


23 Dates

by sharkeu



Category: BLACKPINK (Band), GOT7
Genre: Angst, Exes, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Grief, JinJi, Moving On, Past Relationships, Slow Build, Social Media, but lots of unintentional flirting lol, friendships, gotpink, lots of talking too, really slow build, relationships, work au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-17
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-06-06 06:40:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 159,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15189029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sharkeu/pseuds/sharkeu
Summary: “Still, of all people, why me?” Jisoo asked again.“You two have no risk of falling in love.” Jaebum answered nonchalantly.“And how sure are you about that?” Jisoo dares.It took Jaebum a while before responding. Eventually, he looked up to Jisoo from his laptop in response. But instead of saying anything, he just looked at Jisoo who is waiting for a reply. That's it. That's Jaebum's answer and it made Jisoo both annoyed and worried. Because it's one of those looks that she can never read. So why was she chosen to be part in this virtual relationship? Only Jaebum and his crazy mind know.ora jinji au where jinyoung and jisoo are internet influencers who film themselves during their dates then upload it in their youtube channel as a vlog series. But here’s the catch—they’re a fake couple and it’s all for show





	1. First

Airports are always two things. Quiet and noisy. Crying and laughing. Running and staying. Waiting and leaving. Hellos and goodbyes.

She’s coming back from Japan after a ten-day business trip, missing home.

He has left New York for the first time in ten years, already missing home.

He was sitting in one of the benches at the arrival gate, a book in hand, waiting for his friend to pick him up—who’s running late for almost an hour.

She just got off the plane and running fast to the gates since her flight got delayed and she just hopes the Uber her friend booked for her about two hours ago is still waiting for her.

He put down the book when his phone started ringing. Finally, his friend rose from the dead and remembered him. His friend apologized to him immediately after he answered the call.

Her phone service just got back and she got bombarded with text messages—half of it from the service driver waiting for her. She went through her messages only to find a text saying the driver left and another message from her bank saying the service billed her hundreds.

She groaned as she stops her tracks, she’s now in the middle of the arrival area, people walking around her.

He stood from the bench, pushing his baggage trolley after his phone conversation with his friend telling him he’ll be at the entrance of the terminal in about ten minutes.

And just like that, as she drags her feet to the benches, booking another service that will just cost her more fortune; and as he pushes his baggage trolley, thinking about how to punish his best friend for making him wait, the two of them cross paths for the first time ever.

But nothing happened.

None of them even felt the other’s presence. It’s just them passing by each other.

Because this isn’t how they’re supposed to meet.

This isn’t about meeting cutes or any cute first encounters.

It’s just as plain as being in the same place, unknown of each other’s existence.

But it doesn't mean they’re not supposed to meet.

Because they will. At one point or another, they will.

Not necessarily because it’s destined to happen.

Some things happen because someone made it happen.

 

***

 

“The boss is back!” Jaebum announces as Jisoo enters _Post It!_ ’s Seoul HQ.

Jaebum gives his friend a round of applause, the rest of the guys in the room following along, as Jisoo makes her way to her cubicle.

“Back from the land of the rising sun, here we have Kim Jisoo—“

“Shut up, Jaebum.” Jisoo cuts Jaebum off by hitting his arm with the rolled paper she’s holding.

“What?” Jaebum frowned. “I’m just welcoming Post It _’s_ queen—don't tell Lisa.” He said as he looks behind him, the rest of the guys giving him nods.

Jisoo simply rolls her eyes as she puts down her bag on her desk. She was about to pull her chair when Jaebum beat her to do so, pulling her chair like a gentleman.

Jisoo gave him a questioning look to which Jaebum simply shrugged.

“Coffee? Biscuits? Yoghurt?” Jaebum asks, leaning over Jisoo’s cubicle, as Jisoo takes her seat.

“What do you want?” Jisoo grumpily asks.

“What? We just missed you here.” Jaebum replied.

“You definitely need something.” Jisoo mumbles, mostly talking to herself, as she takes her laptop from her bag. “No. I won’t edit your videos and I still got a bit of a jetlag, I don't want to argue about it right now.”

Jaebum frowns. “First of all, you already agreed to edit for me. Second, I have an idea I’d like to pitch and third,” his eyes light up like a child’s. “No one gets a jetlag over an hour flight.”

“See! I knew you need something!” Jisoo exclaimed. “And no, I don't want to hear it. Not now. The last thing you pitched with me is about an Instagram live of cats playing with yarn balls.”

“Which did well!” Jaebum countered attack.

“You pushed through with it?” Jisoo asks in shock.

Jaebum nods proudly. “One-fifty-k views in ten minutes.”

“There are that much cat ladies in the world?” Jisoo asks.

Jaebum just shrugs.

“Whatever. I’ve got no time for a new show right now, I’m sorry, Jaebum.” Jisoo apologizes. “Try asking Mark. He’s always into the weird stuff you pitch.”

“But I need you.” Jaebum pleaded. “You’re the only one fit for this.”

Jisoo has been working at _Post It!_ —Asia’s largest Internet media company based in Korea—for the past six years with two regular series under her name. Both of which are popular.

One of these series is a series she’s producing with Jaebum and Mark—a show called _Trendsetters_ where they dare each other to try out new stuff that’s trending in social media all while trying to make a new spin in it. It’s an accidental winner. About four years ago, the three of them were still treated as rookies despite having worked for the company for almost two years just because they are younger than everyone else.

Everyone was right, though, they were young. And being young includes going to work—with an early morning meeting—with a terrible hangover. When they were asked to pitch an idea for a new regular show, Mark rambled the first thing that came into his mind—a dare game. The program is cliché and an impromptu presentation didn't help them at all but with Jisoo’s shotgun presentation, Jaebum’s convincing words and Mark’s undeniable charm, their bosses loved the idea. And now, four years later, Trendsetters is now Post It’s biggest series and moneymaker.

Jisoo’s other material is a culinary program where she showcases traditional recipes with a new or western twist. It’s called _Fusion_ and it’s Jisoo’s baby. She didn’t want to waste what she learned in school but she loves what she’s doing so she made a compromise. It’s a fusion in it’s own too.

It’s safe to say that Jisoo is enjoying her life right now but none of these is according to her plans. All her life, all that she wanted is to help her mom in their family restaurant. But, just a few weeks after she graduated with a culinary degree, her parents got divorced and their restaurant shut down.

So, at twenty-one, Jisoo found herself in an early quarter life crisis not knowing what to do.

That’s when Jaebum, her closest friend from college who’s not even in any of her classes, gave her an idea and told her to apply to the then up-and-coming media outlet Post It. Jisoo thought it was a crazy idea. She’s a chef, a culinary graduate. Her tools are spatulas and knives not cameras and microphones. But Jaebum always thought she has a knack for producing and directing media content by the way she criticizes Jaebum’s work.

It’s a crazy idea but Jisoo was hopeless. So with Jisoo’s basic TV production knowledge she got from a college elective, she gave it a try and the rest is, well, history.

Jaebum’s idea wasn’t so crazy after all.

But now, Jisoo is in HQ’s conference room, Jaebum just finished discussing the new series idea he has and Jisoo can’t help but think that Jaebum’s mind is home for the craziest idea.

“Jaebum,” Jisoo mumbles and Jaebum looks at him expectantly.

Jisoo took a deep breath before continuing. “What the fuck are you smoking?”

Jaebum’s smile dropped and his face turned blank.

“I mean,” Jisoo softened her voice. “I liked the idea, I really do.” She explained referring to the new show concept Jaebum just discussed.

Basically, Jaebum’s new idea is a series about a couple who will try popular or trendy date ideas, film it and upload it under Post It. Sounds simple.

“All the fluff and love thing is something our target audience likes.” Jisoo continued. “But why the fuck do you want me to be in it?”

That’s the catch—Jisoo will be the other half of the starring couple.

“What’s wrong with it?” Jaebum asked, sounding innocent.

“Jaebum!” Jisoo cried, totally annoyed. “I’m single! How can I be in a show about couples?”

“I don't need a real couple.” Jaebum replied. “I don't _want_ a real couple. If I star a real couple, there’s a risk of breaking up; of things getting messy. If I cast a make-believe couple, all is fun and games in front of the camera. It’ll be a sort of scripted thing.”

Jisoo just stared a Jaebum in utter disbelief.

“You are crazy.” Jisoo mumbles. “That’s fraud! You can’t do that. What if people find out? You’ll get a lot of backlash. And it could cost you your job and everything about Post It.”

Jaebum exhaled heavily. “I’m desperate, Jisoo. I’ll lose my job either way.”

“What do you mean?” Jisoo asks, suddenly worried.

“Dohwan talked to me.” Their executive producer’s name came out as a sigh from Jaebum’s lips. “My materials from the past six months were all trash. The company is investing too much on me thinking I’m some viral-making-machine that I end up wasting all the funds. Now, he gave me one last chance before we can talk about my contract.”

“He can’t do that. What will happen to _Soul City_? They can’t take that away from you!” Jisoo asks firmly referring to Jaebum’s regular series where he features underground independent artists and once in a while collaborates with them.

Jaebum shrugged, a bittersweet smile flashing in his face. “Well, apparently, he can.” Jaebum said. “So, please, Jisoo. Help me just this once.”

Jisoo stared at his friend for a moment, thinking about helping him and how much she owes him.

“No.” Jisoo looks away. She wants to help Jaebum. She really does, but not this way.

Jaebum’s shoulders dropped, clearly disappointed and hurt.

“Why don't you just cast actors?” Jisoo suggested eagerly. “You know those small actors who badly wants exposure of some sort. I can help you in casting!”

“You know I hate casting.” Jaebum groaned.

“But you know I can’t do that either.” Jisoo whined.

Jaebum just stared at Jisoo, his eyes pleading and Jisoo is trying her best not to give in.

It’s tempting. Jisoo owes Jaebum a lot—her job and whole career to be specific. And now that Jaebum is facing a crisis in his own career, she can’t help but feel guilty about not doing the one thing he asks from her.

But Jisoo can’t bring herself to agreeing to the whole idea too. First of all, she’s not comfortable creating a material that will deceive their audience just for show. She’s a believer of authenticity and spontaneity. She owes the success of her series to its rawness and going by scripts—at least for the most part of it—takes away the magic.

Second, of course, Jisoo can’t bring herself into being in a fake relationship just for it. She’s not the type to be obsessed with relationships but she isn’t someone who takes it like a joke either. And, in all honesty, she just can’t compromise her personal life and relationship for this, more so share it to the public. Even if it’s all for a show.

Jisoo is the middle of the biggest dilemma in her life when her phone started ringing.

Jisoo and Jaebum break the stare as Jisoo turns to her pocket and took her phone out.

“I’m sorry, I have to take this.” Jisoo says as she stands up. “Let’s talk about this some other time, okay?”

Jisoo exits the room, her phone in hand, thanking bank agents for the first time in her life.

Jaebum simply sighs because he knows that it’s a defeat. At least for now.

 

***

 

By the time Jinyoung wakes up, it’s already nighttime.

He went out of his room to make himself a cup of coffee. He scanned around the apartment, looking for signs of Jackson—his roommate—but got nothing. He’s probably off somewhere for work again.

Jinyoung walks to the kitchen, straight to the fridge. He opened it; the light suddenly coming from inside made him squint. He only got disappointed though. The fridge has nothing but half-empty containers of side dishes in it, lots of bottled water, cans of beer and few other expired goods. He shuts the fridge keeping a mental reminder to ask Jackson to go the supermarket with him.

He walked to the kitchen cabinet, right on top of the stove and there he found, as expected, lots of ramen packets of different brands and variants that can make them full for at least two months.

Jinyoung took one and cooks for himself.

He started eating the ramen as soon at it’s done, not bothering to transfer it to a bowl. He just carelessly removed it from the stove and eat right there on the kitchen top.

He turned around, back to the fridge, to take some kimchi he saw a while ago and a can of beer.

Jinyoung glanced at the clock on the wall, which told him it’s seventeen minutes past eight in the evening. He has been sleeping for the past twelve hours. His body clock, apparently, hasn't adjusted to his homeland yet.

Jinyoung was born and raised in South Korea, particularly in Jinhae but their family moved to Seoul when he was five and lived here until he was eighteen and yet, he feels so alienated in his own roots. New York has been his home for ten years.

Ten years. It seems like a pretty long time but it felt like all those years just flashed before Jinyoung’s eyes.

Jinyoung just graduated high school when he was given a huge opportunity to study journalism in New York. It was a pretty good deal so he didn't hesitate. He packed his bags and flew to America for the first time in his life.

It wasn't easy. In fact, it was beyond difficult. On his first night in the university, Jinyoung found himself crying to sleep because he misses home too much.

Finding friends wasn't so easy. It didn't really matter if Jinyoung is someone from abroad—it’s college and the university is basically filled with different people of different races. It’s mostly because of Jinyoung. He’s just someone who never really found opening up with someone easy and that didn't become any easier in a land far away from home with people he knows he’s going to leave after a couple of years.

So he just lived on his own, with a few friends. But one day, Jinyoung found himself falling in love—with New York and everything about it. Soon enough, Jinyoung was happy again.

He graduated and his supposedly four-year stay got extended because he found a job that he loved eventually. He’s living a pretty good life in New York. A guy in his twenties juggling work and social life, it’s actually pretty good. Beautiful, even.

Jinyoung loved it. He loved every single thing of it.

Until it all crashed down. Until one piece—the most important piece—of his beautiful life got lost and everything went down.

Jinyoung got broken and was devastated. He couldn't stay in New York anymore because he started to hate every single thing about it.

Now, he’s back in his homeland feeling like he doesn't belong here anymore. Feeling like he doesn't belong anywhere.

Jinyoung is in the middle of washing the pot he used when someone rang the doorbell in the apartment. He hasn’t even been here for twenty-fours so he’s pretty sure whoever that is must be Jackson’s visitor.

He is not in the mood to entertain anyone, let alone answer the door to tell Jackson isn’t around so he just let it be. He finishes washing the pot then he went back to his room, just as the doorbell stopped ringing.

When he got to his room, however, it’s his phone that started ringing. It was a bit odd. He just got his local number and hasn’t given it to anyone except Jackson. He looked over his phone thinking it’s Jackson but it’s an unregistered number. Jinyoung didn’t want to talk to anyone so he tossed his phone to the couch as he prepare for a quick shower.

It was barely a shower. It was simply Jinyoung under the shower, water gushing to his body.

He knew he was meant to do something when he decided to go back home—or at least that’s what his best friend Jaebum told him to. Jaebum did a lot of convincing, not because Jinyoung didn't want to do it, but simply because he had trouble getting through his best friend. But within months of subtle and obvious convincing, Jinyoung had his best friend taking care of all the details of his trip.

Jinyoung is sure there was a reason why he came back but, still, he doesn't know _why_ he’s here.

A couple of minutes under the shower—when he felt the skin of his fingers already wrinkling from too much water—Jinyoung stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around his waist and walked out of the bathroom with his body still a bit wet.

When he got back to his room, drying his hair with another towel, he found his phone still ringing. It was still the same unknown number and Jinyoung still decided not to answer it. He let it ring as he changes into a fresh shirt and boxers.

He checked his phone after it stopped ringing, finding out that he has seven missed calls—four from the unknown number and three more from Jackson.

Jinyoung picked his phone up and called Jackson back as he walks out of his room, thinking that it might be something important.

Jackson just picked up the call when Jinyoung heard the door unlock and opens.

“Hey, Park Jinyoung.”

The voice surprised Jinyoung. It was Jaebum and he wasn't expecting him at all, even if he’s the reason why he’s here right now.

“Do you even know how to answer your damn phone?” Jaebum asks as he walks past Jackson who opened the door.

“We’ve been calling you, man. Were where you?” Jackson asked as he follows Jaebum inside.

“I was even knocking but you didn't bother to open up the door.” Jaebum added. “As expected.”

“I was in the bathroom.” Jinyoung answered as he wipes the side of his head with the towel.

“For an hour?” Jackson asks in disbelief. He walks to the fridge to take out a couple of beers.

Jinyoung glanced at the clock saying it’s a quarter before ten. He was indeed in the shower for about an hour.

“We thought something happened.” Jaebum mumbles walking to Jackson, opening a beer and drinking it straight up.

Jinyoung ignored his friends’ worry and walks to them instead, taking a seat in the bar stool in front of the two.

“What are you doing here anyway?” Jinyoung asks Jaebum.

“It’s nice seeing you too. You’re welcome since I took care of planning your trip.” Jaebum mocks Jinyoung to which Jackson chuckled.

Jinyoung rolls his eyes.

“Thank you.” Jinyoung muttered under his breath.

Jaebum gave him a smug smile. “Work is being a dick, as usual.”

“What happened?” Jackson asked, turning to Jaebum and leaning his side to the bar top.

“Don't tell me you got the work you’re offering me messed up.” Jinyoung mumbles.

“I didn't.” Jaebum quickly answered before sighing. “Yet.”

Jinyoung gave Jaebum a look to which the latter replied with a groan.

“I’m working on it, okay?” Jaebum mumbles. “It’s just not that easy but I have to do it. I can’t lose my job.”

 

***

 

“Hey.”

Jisoo is stretching her arms above her head while yawning when Mark suddenly appears behind her, tapping her slightly. His voice was soft, almost a whisper, but it still made Jisoo jump in surprise.

Jisoo turned to Mark and she found her co-worker with a wide grin.

“Sorry, didn't mean to startle you.” Mark apologized.

Jisoo rolled her eyes, obviously faking it, which just made Mark sigh.

“What time is it?” Jisoo asked.

“I’s already past ten.” Mark replied. “Did you even have dinner?”

Jisoo sighed. “Well, you know our EP is the biggest asshole. He gave me loads of things to edit on top of preparing Fusion’s next season. So, no, I didn't have a bite yet.”

“Fuck yeah, he is.” Mark agreed. “We had pizza earlier and Jaebum left some for you at the fridge.”

“You had pizza and didn't even call me?” Jisoo asked, feeling betrayed.

“Lisa called you but you were too engrossed working.” Mark explained.

Jisoo leans back in her chair sighing. “And you’re leaving already?”

Mark nodded before turning around with a wave.

“Hey, wait.” Jisoo mumbles looking around. “Everyone else left?”

“Everyone else except the asshole.” Mark replied pointing at the EP’s office.

Jisoo groaned.

“Just go home already.” Mark said.

“I wish I could.” Jisoo mumbles under her breath. “Go ahead.”

“Bye.” Mark replies as he exits the HQ.

Jisoo returns back to her work before yawning for the second time and that’s when she decided she needed a cup of coffee to keep her awake and probably that slice of pizza too to fill her stomach.

She went to the pantry to make herself a cup of coffee and heat the pizza Jaebum left on the fridge.

Except for the soft sound of the microwave spinning, the whole HQ is quiet, so different from how loud it is when everyone is here either brainstorming about something or just simply messing with each other. Normally, Jisoo would be scared being alone late at night but she got so used to doing overtimes that if there are ghosts here, they’ll just pity her for working too hard.

The microwave dinged, startling her a bit, the sudden sound seems like an alarm on the quiet room.

She took the pizza and the coffee on her both hands as she travels back to her cubicle.

When she got out of the pantry, Dohwan—their executive producer nobody likes that much—is leaning on the doorframe of his office, arms crossed on his chest.

“Hey,” Jisoo greeted nonchalantly. “Pizza?” She asks, purely out of courtesy.

Dohwan shakes his head as he walks to her. “Still not done with the revisions?”

Jisoo shrugged taking a bit of her pizza as she settles on her seat. “Finishing up, based on _my_ standards.”

“Don’t take it against me, Jisoo. You know how important those videos are.” Dohwan said.

“Yeah but you also happen to know I just came from a Japan trip _this_ morning and just in case you forgot, it’s a business trip so, I don't know, you could have moved the deadline a day later or something.” Jisoo said before taking another bite of the pizza.

Dohwan sighed. “Let’s not talk about this, okay?”

_Let’s not talk at all_. Was what Jisoo wanted to say but decided against her will. She has never showed any liking over their EP because he’s inconsiderate, he belittles rookies and just overall annoying but he is somehow good at his job so everyone else just tries to be professional with him.

Jisoo chose not to say anything and sips her coffee instead.

Dohwan leaned on Jaebum’s cubicle beside Jisoo, pushing his things across the table.

Jisoo took an impatient sigh.

“What do you want, Dohwan?” Jisoo asked. “Just cut to the chase and skip the small talk, please.”

“You don't really like me that much, don't you?” Dohwan ask with a sly smile.

“And you’re only figuring it out now?” Jisoo replied.

Dohwan’s smile turned into an offended smirk, he wasn't expecting the brave reply at all.

“What do you think about Soul City?” Dohwan asked, scanning through Jaebum things.

Jisoo felt her stomach churn. She suddenly remembered what Jaebum told her earlier; about Dohwan threatening him he’ll lose his job.

“One of our best shows.” Jisoo says confidently. “I think we owe the show half of our subscribers.”

Dohwan nodded. “Exactly.”

Jisoo’s brows furrow. Where is Dohwan going here?

“That’s why we can’t get rid of it.” Dohwan continued. “Even if Jaebum’s out.”

“So, what do you think about taking it?”

“Excuse me?” Jisoo’s voice echoed in the dark, quiet room.

Jisoo is about ninety percent sure Dohwan is smoking something because who in their right mind will think that she will take her friend’s show? But the look in Dohwan’s eyes and how his arms are perfectly crossed on his chest tells Jisoo that he is far from kidding and he’s more than sure of what he’s saying.

Which makes Jisoo more uncomfortable. No. Of course she won’t agree on taking Jaebum’s show. That’s his soul. That’s one thing that is keeping him alive—Jisoo is sure he’s that passionate about it.

“Jaebum,” Dohwan continued. “He’s good. He really _was_.” He made sure to emphasize on the past tense making Jisoo even more annoyed. “But he turned greedy. He thought he can do everything, he made us invest in his content that were up to no good. All the other EPs trusted him but he has lost his magic. We just can’t continue with him anymore.”

Jisoo is confused but she’s more annoyed. She’s disgusted. She’s hating Dohwan even more. How can he have the guts to tell her this when he knows she and Jaebum are friends?

That’s because he doesn't care. He doesn't care about his people. He’s too focused on his visions on this company that he overlooks his people.

But Jisoo pushed her annoyance away. She’s thinking of ways on how to convince Dohwan that kicking Jaebum out of the company is not best decision. Hell, it’s not even a rational option.

The silence got longer and deafening. She felt her head aching, like it’s about to explode. She hates this. No, she can’t let Jaebum be defeated like this.

Then she remembered how crazy Jaebum is.

“You’re giving him a chance.” Jisoo mumbles.

Dohwan furrows his eyebrows.

“Jaebum told me.” Jisoo continued. “You gave him a chance. One more pitch.”

Dohwan smirked. “He can’t do that. At this point, all his ideas are trash. I’m telling you, he lost it.”

“No.” It’s Jisoo’s turn to smirk now. For some reasons, Dohwan’s arrogance is making her brave. “He can do it.”

Dohwan got tensed, his eyes started to look worried, for a second, Jisoo thinks he’s actually scared.

“We can do it.”

 

***

 

It’s not even eight in the morning but Jinyoung is already running. He’s never a morning person, not really a night owl either, but he just prefers sleeping in mornings and getting up late especially on days he has nothing to do.

But he hasn't slept all night and by the time he felt the sun is hinting its rays, he felt like it’s just the right time to take a run without looking suspicious.

He’s not familiar with this neighborhood yet for him to run around alone but he doesn't care, he just let his feet take him wherever.

He was already on his fifth lap when he felt tired. He slowed down a bit and found a coffee shop at the corner of a street.

He went inside the coffee shop and quickly ordered a latte. As soon as he got his order, he went out of the coffee shop and stayed at the seats outside to cool off his tired body.

He watches as people pass by the street in front of him—most of them in a rush.

About half an hour watching people start their day, Jinyoung realized Seoul isn’t much different from New York. Just like in the Big Apple, people in Seoul are all busy too. They have their own lives, own work, own schedule but all of them are just dreading to start the day, striving to survive by the end of it.

Everyone is moving; everyone has a goal. Except him.

Jinyoung is stuck.

“He is so annoying. I hate him even more!”

A groan pulls Jinyoung away from his thoughts.

Jinyoung took a subtle glance and found a girl standing a few steps from him, just by the coffee shop’s door, as if she stopped just before getting inside.

“I’m telling you, he’s getting worse.” The girl mumbles as she dishes something from her backpack, her phone between her shoulder and her cheek.

“He’s really unbelievable.” It’s hard not too eavesdrop when she’s literally beside Jinyoung now. Also, there’s something about her voice that gets his attention.

Jinyoung watches the girl carefully but he still can’t tell if the furrow in her brows is because of the person she’s talking to or because she’s having too much trouble looking for whatever it is she’s looking for inside her bag.

“I had to tell him you’re planning something.” The girl says as she walks to Jinyoung’s table. She put her bag in the table first before getting her phone from her cheek.

“Hold on.” She says as she puts her phone down at the table.

Jinyoung continues to watch her, amazed at how oblivious she is that she just invaded someone else’s table.

He wouldn't admit, but when the girl’s face softens after finding what she’s looking for—a moss green wallet—Jinyoung actually formed a smile at the girl’s angelic look.

She has a wide smile when she slung her bag back to one of her shoulders then she took her phone and put it back to her ear.

“Yeah, sorry, was just looking for my wallet.” She has a wide smile on her face until her eyes darted to Jinyoung and finds him staring at her, their eyes locking for a moment.

Then Jinyoung swears that moment felt longer than it actually is. They were weirdly looking at each other’s eyes as if it’s something they have done before.

It’s not usual for two strangers to lock gazes but neither of them is looking away. It was as if their eyes are communicating but none of them can tell what their eyes are telling. It’s as if everything froze and they’re just lost in the galaxy of their eyes.

Until the coffee shop’s door swings open, the sound of its chime pulled them back to reality then they both break the gaze.

“Hello? Jisoo? You still there?”

Jaebum’s voice is ringing in Jisoo’s ear, bringing her back to her senses.

“Huh?” Was the only sound she made before remembering what she’s here for—coffee—that’s what she’s here for.

She turned to the door, running to it quickly before it closes, getting inside in a swift move. The sensation she just felt just gave her chills. She can’t explain what it was. Was she actually locking eyes with someone she hasn't even met once? A complete stranger?

She took one glance outside just to check if it’s real—if she can even check that—but when her eyes darted outside, the guy is just standing up, looking rather unbothered. Jisoo took a deep breath. She’s probably still half asleep and needs that coffee so bad.

“Jisoo? What happened? You okay?” Jaebum asked once again and Jisoo can tell that he’s _almost_ worried.

“Yeah, still breathing just…” She trailed off as she walks to the counter. “Just got distracted for a bit. Where was I again?”

“You telling Dohwan about me planning something.” Jaebum reminded her.

“Oh, yeah!” Jisoo replied. “You should see the look in his face, he’s like, so scared.”

“You didn't tell him exactly what the plan, right?” Jaebum asked.

“Of course not!” Jisoo said. “I just said we’re up to something.”

“ _We_.” Jaebum repeated. “So does this mean you’re in?”

Jisoo could see Jaebum smirking and she hates it.

She’s not in complete terms with Jaebum’s idea yet. She’s not yet fully convinced that she faking a relationship for a couple’s series is a good idea. But hearing how Dohwan underestimated Jaebum last night, how sure he was that Jaebum is a waste to the company now and how annoying he is in general, Jisoo just knows this is something she has to do.

“I don't know.” Jisoo groans. “You’ll have to convince me more.”

“How can I do that?” Jaebum asked.

“I don't know.” Jisoo repeated. “Pair me up with a really good looking guy. Someone who’s as handsome as Song Joongki or Kim Soohyun. Maybe that will compensate for it.”

Jaebum roars into laughter. “That’s it? That’s all I need to convince you?”

Jisoo couldn't answer because she was busy ordering her coffee.

“Well, consider yourself in this project, Miss Kim Jisoo.” Jaebum continued. “’Cause as much as I hate to admit it, you just found yourself a flower boy virtual boyfriend.”

 

 

“You can’t take it back now, okay?” Jaebum asked.

“You’re starting to get annoying. Ask again and I’m sure I’ll back out.” Jisoo threatened.

“I’m just making sure. There’s no backing out. Your name’s already in my deck.” Jaebum said as he reviews his deck for his presentation to the bosses tomorrow.

“Don’t make me think twice.” Jisoo mumbles and honestly, she hasn’t stopped thinking twice, thrice even.

Jaebum grinned. “Did Kim Soohyun actually convince you?”

Jisoo rolled her eyes. “No. It’s Dohwan. I hate him so much I want to kick his ass and I was a bit impulsive when he offered Soul City to me.”

Jaebum’s expression changed, his smiled died down but he still managed to fake it.

“I told you he’s really doing it.” Jaebum is just staring blankly at his slide now.

“Okay, I did partly because I wanted to annoy Dohwan so bad.” Jisoo turns to Jaebum. “But mainly because I know you are more than just some shitty materials and even though we both know this series is crazy and totally unethical, I’ll still help you because I believe in you.”

They were quiet for a moment and Jisoo was sure she has tugged some strings and she has actually made Jaebum touched.

Until the older guy bursts into laughter.

“You’re really doing it. Kim Jisoo, now in a relationship.” Jaebum teased.

“Shut up or I’ll back out, I swear.” Jisoo threatened her friend once again.

Jisoo doesn’t care about relationships. It’s not that she hates it, not too much after it either. She’s just on the neutral.

It’s least of her priority. She did have a couple of flings here and there but relationship is something that doesn't define her. She’s happy with or without it. Simply put, she’s that friend who’s never in a relationship but is always happy—the one her committed friends envies.

So being in a relationship is something that will surely shock everyone that knows her. Being in a relationship and sharing it to the public is much more unusual.

“So, tell me again, why are you dragging me into this?” Jisoo asks as she watches Jaebum, now halfway through reviewing his slides. “Of all people, why me? Do you hate me that much? You could’ve chosen Bambam and Lisa you know.”

Jaebum scoffed. “Bambam? That dude goes out clubbing and hooking up with girls almost every night, putting him in this show is pointless. And him and Lisa? It’s supposed to be a couple dating, not bickering every chance they get to.”

Jisoo chuckled. Jaebum’s right. Their two beloved juniors aren’t the best choice for this but that doesn't make her as the best one.

“Still, of all people, why me?” Jisoo asked again.

“You _two_ have no risk of falling in love.” Jaebum answered nonchalantly.

“And how sure are you about that?” Jisoo dares.

It took Jaebum a while before responding. Eventually, he looked up to Jisoo from his laptop in response. But instead of saying anything, he just looked at Jisoo who is waiting for a reply. That's it. That's Jaebum's answer and it made Jisoo both annoyed and worried. Because it's one of those looks that she can never read. So why was she chosen to be part in this virtual relationship? Only Jaebum and his crazy mind know.

“That’s it.” Jaebum said as he looks away. He closes his laptop then stands. “Time to throw some pitch. Wish me luck.”

Jisoo sighs. “Yeah, whatever. Hope you get what you deserve.”

Jisoo doesn’t know what she meant by that and neither do Jaebum. Deep down inside, they’re just praying for the best.

Jisoo watched as Jaebum walks to the conference room where their producers are waiting for him. She doesn’t know why but she’s so anxious about this pitch. Probably because she’s involved in it—that and because someone’s job and career is at stake.

Jisoo is staring at the conference room’s door for God knows how long, nervously twirling her pen on her fingers, when Lisa suddenly peeks over her cubicle.

“You need to chill, Jisoo.” Lisa says crossing her arms and leaning on their cubicle divider.

There are only a few people who can see Jisoo in her anxious state and Lisa is one of them. There is only one person who Jisoo trusts being bare with her anxieties and that’s Lisa.

Jisoo looked up at Lisa with a worried expression.

“I’m overreacting, right?” Jisoo groaned. “Why do I feel like a mother whose child just took a university exam?”

Lisa chuckles, leaning off the divider then walks over to Jisoo’s other side.

“You need a break from here.” Lisa says. “You’ll just lose your mind waiting.”

Jisoo sighed. “Yeah.”

“Let’s go get some stuff for Fusion.” Lisa announced dragging Jisoo from her desk then straight to door, exiting the HQ.

The two of them immediately called a cab going to the nearest mall to grab some stuff for Fusion. They’re on a season break and both of them know that they don’t need anything for the show yet but Jisoo needed a breather so here it is.

A couple of minutes later, they arrived at the mall and their first stop is to the bookstore mainly because books calm Jisoo and partly because they really needed some new cookbooks for the show.

Lisa knew, as soon as they got off the cab at the entrance near the bookstore, she will be the only one looking for cookbooks while Jisoo is lost in novels section. Lisa didn't mind though, it’s basically her job as the show’s Associate Producer.

Sure enough, seconds into getting inside the bookstore, Jisoo has gone to the novels section.

Some people go shopping, some play computer games, a lot go stress eating; but for Jisoo, the best way to relieve stress is to visit bookshops. There’s something about the books perfectly yet chaotically piled up in the shelves that calms her. The scent of books, old or new, works better than any essential oils to keep her at ease. Being surrounded by books is simply her comfort zone.

This is why she always ends up buying books she never had the time to read. In her recent Japan trip alone, she brought home four books—all from the same author and all she had read before just in different edition covers.

She is scanning the books in the far end shelf, reading every back cover for the synopsis carefully. She hasn't been inside the store for an hour but she already has two books in hand that she is sure to buy and she is about to pick her third.

Now with three new books in hand and a giddy smile plastered on her face when she turned around and saw a guy at the far end of the shelf, reading a book.

Seeing the guy sent chills all over Jisoo’s body. He’s the guy from earlier. The random stranger she weirdly locked eyes with. Jisoo froze in her place. A part of her says she should be uncomfortable, scared even, that she’s seeing the same guy for the second time today—he could be a stalker, for all she knows.

But she’s not even a tiny bit uncomfortable. In contrary, she’s actually feeling light watching the guy reading calmly. His eyes are focused on the page, which explains why he doesn't even notice Jisoo staring at him. She watches him as he turns every page, his head doing little nods as he scans the pages.

His lips form into a smile, Jisoo thought he has decided to buy the book, then closes the book softly before looking up.

And that’s how they find themselves back into each other’s gaze just like what happened earlier this morning. Only this time, there is more recognition in the stares and there’s an undeniable wonder and surprise in their looks.

They were distracted shortly after, when Lisa appeared behind the guy.

“Jisoo? Are you done?” Lisa asked.

“Yeah.” Jisoo stuttered, looking away from the guy.

“Are you okay?” Lisa asked, looking at Jisoo with worry before turning to the guy with suspicious eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” Jisoo replied walking past the guy, as if nothing happened, straight to Lisa, dragging her away.

“What was that?” Lisa asks as soon as she’s sure they’re far from the guy. “Do you know that guy?”

Jisoo still looks confused but she managed to shake her head.

“Well, is he cute? His profile looks kinda cute.” Lisa’s worried expression turned into a tease, earning a side eye from Jisoo.

“What? Admit it, he is.” Lisa added but Jisoo didn't say a word and dragged Lisa to the counter instead, putting all the books at once at the counter top as soon as they reached it.

“I saw him this morning too.” Jisoo mumbles, mostly to herself.

“Huh? So you know him?” Lisa is beyond confused.

“No, I haven’t seen him before this morning at the coffee shop near the office.” Jisoo explained. “It’s weird.”

“Well, that coffee shop and this mall is technically in the same area so it’s not that weird.” Lisa mumbles. “He probably lives around here.”

Jisoo ignored Lisa’s assumption because she knows that and that’s not what she’s referring to when she said weird.

The two lass walk out of the bookstore with two bags in hands.

“Hey, hey,” Lisa mumbles catching up with Jisoo’s steps and clinging her arm into hers. “You mean this is the second time you saw him?”

“Yeah.” Jisoo answered.

Lisa’s smile turned wider. “Then you know what they say; Once is by chance, twice is coincidence and third time’s destiny.”

Jisoo scoffed. “What? You’re still into Tumblr aren’t you?”

Lisa made a face.

“What’s your point?” Jisoo asks.

Lisa smiled slyly. “If you see him for the third time, ask him on a date.”

Jisoo groaned, taking her arm off of Lisa’s, making the younger burst into laughter.

“Come on, he’s cute!” Lisa added as she follows Jisoo’s pace.

Jisoo rolled her eyes. “Well, sorry, I’m about to have a boyfriend soon.”

Jisoo wanted to sound so chic and savage but the words came out with a sigh from her mouth. Lisa couldn't help but give her a look of pity.

Jisoo drops her shoulder when she felt her phone ringing on her back pocket. She put the bag she’s holding on an arm, quickly taking her phone and answering it without checking who the person calling is.

“Well, well, well.”

It was Jaebum and by the sound of arrogance in his voice, he got the series.

“Well, well, well, my single days are over?” Jisoo mumbles and honestly, she doesn't know if she should be happy or sad about the news.

There was silence from the other line and Jisoo is certain Jaebum is nodding his head with an insane smile plastered on his face.

“And you have to be ready for your date tonight.”

“What?” Jisoo’s mood changed from chill to extreme shock in less than a second. “No!”

“Hey, you already agreed to this, there’s not going back.” Jaebum assured.

“Yeah, but tonight? Shouldn't I meet my _boyfriend_ first and you know, have preproduction meetings and stuff like how actual series work?” Jisoo asked as Lisa helps her with the bag of books she’s holding.

“Of course.” Jaebum said. “But you annoyed Dohwan so much he’s basically giving me three days to get this done. We’re premiering on Friday.”

“What the actual fuck? He’s out of his mind!” Jisoo can’t bring herself to believe.

“He is. And you should’ve considered that before annoying the hell out of him.” Jaebum replied.

“How is it my fault?” Jisoo said. “I helped you! How are we supposed to produce a material in three days? This is college all over again.”

“You’re freaking out too much, Jisoo.” Jaebum said almost too confidently and Jisoo knows he is. Jaebum is back. The crazy Jaebum is back and getting this series done—even in the shortest timetable ever—is something he believes in as much as he believes in his capacities. “Don't worry about the preproduction, I’ve got all my research done. Trust me, I got this. All that’s left to do is for you to meet your boyfriend and we’re good to film the first episode.”

“We got this, Jisoo.” Jaebum promised.

Jisoo let out a long, heavy sigh. “Yeah, easy for you to say.”

 

 

“Seriously?” Jisoo asks in utter disbelief as Jaebum meets her at the front door of the McDonald’s near their office.

“McDonald’s? First date on a fast food chain?” Jisoo says as they walk inside. She’s walking slowly, acting like it’s because of Jaebum’s poor taste in a date idea but truth it, she’s just nervous.

Her insides are twisting and turning; it feels like it won’t take long until it all falls off her tummy. She can’t explain how she feels. One moment, she’s annoyed at how Jaebum is dragging her here then she’ll feel guilty for feeling bad about helping her friend.

Then all of the sudden, she remembers what she’s about to face. She’s about to meet a guy she hasn't met once—a complete stranger—and nonchalantly act like they’re in love. Or at least that they’re in a relationship—that’s two different things.

She crossed her arms on her chest, not wanting Jaebum to see her hands trembling.

Lisa, who Jisoo forced to come with them, closed the gap between them as Jaebum leads the way.

“If he looks meh, just remember that it’s just work anyway.” Lisa leaned in to whisper to Jisoo’s ear. “If he’s cute then remember it’s _just_ work.”

“You should be the one doing this, you know?” Jisoo mumbles, making sure Jaebum hears her. “You’re more adventurous at stuff like this.”

Lisa moved away a bit then shrugged. “I mean, I’d love to but Jaebum didn't even consider me as an option.”

“Look, if I cast you for this,” Jaebum turned to them with a smug look in his face. “This will look more like a dating game show than a vlog series.”

Lisa made a face to which Jaebum answered with a shrug before turning his back again.

Jisoo watches him from a far, not wanting him to stop walking because when he stops, that’s when they will reach the guy’s table and Jisoo is not yet ready for that.

But destiny or whatsoever is never on Jisoo’s side.

Jisoo’s feet involuntarily stops when Jaebum stops at a table just a few steps from where Jisoo and Lisa are.

There he is. Jisoo’s boyfriend, patiently waiting for her. Jisoo doesn't know how to feel but she’s pretty sure being a crybaby about this is something she doesn't want to be. Lisa is right. This is nothing but work. Technically, they’re actors and this is something fictional.

Jisoo takes a deep breath collecting her thoughts. She could see Jaebum talking to the guy but it’s not audible for her. She was ready to walk to them and say hi like how professionals deal with meeting new workmates but the guy turns around after Jaebum pointed to their direction and Jisoo swears the world stopped spinning and her heart skipped two beats.

It’s him.

He’s the weird guy in the coffee shop this morning. He’s the guy calmly reading at the bookstore just an hour ago.

He’s the stranger she’s weirdly sharing stares with.

Jinyoung’s eyes widen in show. His whole body froze but his heart is getting crazy in his chest.

She’s the talkative girl at the coffee shop this morning. She’s the girl he saw again with mystery novels in her arm at the bookstore this afternoon.

It’s her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! I'm back! lmao
> 
> So... I honestly don't know what's up with this hahaha I mean, this is going to be a bit (a/n: a lot lol) different from the last and it's going to be a bit angstier, I think? And the setting is a bit different, or rather, specific so I don't know if it's something people will be interested in.
> 
> hahaha sorry, I'm rambling as usual lmao but this is when I'd really need your comments and reactions. I know the first chapter is still quite vague. But I'd appreciate it a lot if you can tell me what your first impression is.
> 
> Is it tolerable? Should I continue this? Or should I just shut up? hahaha anything! Just drop a comment here, on my Twitter or on my cc (both @/howtobeucoco) All of your comments are welcome! Only if you can and if you'd like though dkdkdkdkd
> 
> Anyway that's all for now! Please watch out for the next chapter!
> 
> Thank you for reading! <3


	2. Her

Jinyoung is never a believer of love at first sight. Attraction—that’s the only thing that one can get from meeting someone for the first time. You get attracted to them. Maybe from their eyes, from their smile, their hair, their style, their looks—everything that is skin-deep.

Love, for Jinyoung, is more than things that are physical. Falling in love is when you feel comfortable around someone. Love is when you have this undeniable connection with the other that it feels like all your life you’re just preparing to meet the other.

That is something no one can ever feel at first sight.

So, for him, love at first time is nothing but pure bullshit.

And yet there is this girl standing in front of him, who he has never met once in his life but he unexpectedly crossed paths twice today, is making him feel like she’s someone who he has known all his life; that all these time, he’s just waiting for her.

“Could this be love first sight?”

For a second, Jinyoung thought he got ahead of himself and thought aloud until he realized that it was Jaebum asking, looking at him and the girl with confused eyes.

They might have been staring at each other for so long that they didn't notice Jaebum and Lisa are already sitting in front of him; Jisoo was left in the side.

“No.” Jisoo violently denies as she walks to the table. With the seat next to Jinyoung as the only free one, she didn't have a choice but to sit there.

“Do you guys know each other?” Jaebum asks, sensing the tension between the two.

“No.”

“No.”

“Yes!”

Jinyoung, Jisoo and Lisa all answered at the same time making Jaebum even more confused.

“I remember! You’re the guy at the bookstore!” Lisa exclaimed.

“So you know each other?” Jaebum asked once again.

Jinyoung waited for Jisoo to answer while Jisoo gave Lisa a look before sighing.

“No.” Jisoo finally said. “We just randomly saw each other twice today.”

Jaebum still looks confused. Jisoo’s answer doesn't convince him. He turned to Jinyoung and his best friend just subtly shakes his head before looking away.

“Okay then,” Jaebum shakes the confusion away, making a mental note to ask Jinyoung later. “We’re off to a good start then.”

Jaebum then flashed a smug smile and Jisoo swore she wanted to hit him in the head. Jinyoung, on the other hand, didn't hold back at all and shakes his head dramatically.

“Let’s not make this hard for any of us, Jisoo,” Jaebum turned to Jisoo. “This guy is Jinyoung. He’s one of my oldest friends, he’s going to be your boyfriend.”

Jisoo awkwardly turns to her side while Jinyoung confidently faces her, giving her a smile.

“Jinyoung,” Jaebum continued. “Her name is Jisoo. One of the best producers at work, she’s your new girlfriend.”

Jisoo just rolled her eyes with the introduction before turning back to Jinyoung then, more confidently now, returning a warm smile.

“So, now that you know each other, let’s get started.” Jaebum said getting up from his seat.

“Lisa,” Jaebum called. “And by the way, she’s Lisa, another Post It producer and she’s going to be my audio person today.”

“I am?” Lisa asks, referring to her assigned task for today.

“Can you please help me set this up?” Jaebum asks with a wide smile as he reaches for his camera and tripod from under the table.

Lisa shakes her smiling before standing up, hands on her forehead, like a salute. “Aye, aye! Captain!”

“Wait,” Jisoo mumbles, only realizing the equipment Jaebum has. He has his camera, a tripod and a mic. “We’re filming here? _Now_?”

Jaebum nodded as he and Lisa sets up the camera. “My deadline for the first episode is in two days that means I need a material tonight so I’ll have something to start editing tomorrow. Also, you annoyed Dohwan so much he didn't give any budget for a crew. It’s just you and me, all other help we need, we’re going to ask _nicely_.”

“We didn't even know what we’ll do.” Jinyoung mumbles.

Jaebum gave him a look of disbelief before walking back to the two.

“Okay.” Jaebum says. “As I’ve said, we are producing a new series about a new couple—that’s you two—who goes to different dates and films it. Each week, one date.” Jaebum took a folder out of his bag and handed it to the two. Jisoo opened it as soon as she takes it while Jinyoung looks over beside her.

“ _Fifty creative date ideas_?” Jisoo reads the title aloud.

Jaebum nods. “So basically, that’s going to be our outline for this series. You’re going to try every single date in that list.”

“But there’s fifty here!” Jisoo protested. “That’s about four seasons, you’re planning on having this thing for two years?”

“Did you ever plan a short term series?” Jaebum asked Jisoo.

Jisoo couldn't answer. Of course she didn't. If you’re a producer on a media company like Post It where your main goal is to produce stuff that will create a large following, you never want your show to be short term. You always aim for something sustainable. Something that will drive a large audience that will always look for more episodes. That is why it's called a series in the first place.

Jaebum smiled widely when Jisoo couldn't answer.

“So, please, can we get started? I need to get back to the office to start this.” He said before walking back to where Lisa is who just finished framing the new couple.

Jisoo watches Jaebum and Lisa as they set the equipment, once again having doubts about what she got herself into.

Jinyoung sighs.

“Guess we have no choice but to do this.” He whispers, almost too close to Jisoo’s ear that she actually felt his breath brush on her cheeks, making her jump a bit.

“Sorry.” Jinyoung softly says, moving back a bit.

When Jisoo turned to him, he has this soft smile and Jisoo can’t help but return it.

“Yeah, let’s just get over this.”

They quietly reviewed the list, their heads dipped down the folder.

“Hey, Jaebum,” Jinyoung mumbles. “There’s no fast food date in your list. Where does this date fit in?”

“Oh yeah, about that,” Jaebum mumbles as he lifts the boom mic above his head. “We’re just doing the series introduction for now. Just say something about yourself, basics about you two—you know the usual. Just make stuff up then talk about your day or something? I don't know.”

“I thought you’re prepared.” Jisoo says.

“Sshh.” Jaebum says, shaking his head. “Three, two, rolling!”

“Slate!” Lisa says as she claps, using her hands a slate due to the lack of equipment.

Jisoo and Jinyoung just stared at the red light blinking at the camera, not saying anything for what seem to be a good five minutes.

“Guys, talk.” Jaebum mumbles.

“You think this is easy?” Jisoo said.

“This is awkward.” Jinyoung says.

“This won’t work, Jaebum.” Lisa agrees, her hands on her waist. “I mean, look at them, they’re so tensed. You didn't even order anything. This looks nothing like a date.”

“Thank you.” Jisoo said dramatically.

“You have any suggestion?” Jaebum asked, putting down the boom mic, annoyed because his arms are sore already.

Lisa moved her arms from her hips to cross them in her chest.

“How about we order some food then leave them for a while? You know so they can ease up with each other a bit without anyone watching them.” Lisa suggested.

“That will take too much time.” Jaebum said. “We wouldn't have enough time to take actual footages.”

“We'll leave the camera on. When they’re ready then they’ll just turn to the camera and do their thing.” Lisa looks from Jaebum to Jisoo and Jinyoung then back to Jaebum, asking for approval. “We’ll also have some raw footage in between and you won’t get too tired from holding the boom for too long, the camera’s mic will actually work.”

“Sounds good to me.” Jaebum finally surrenders. He turned to his two friends. “You two, good luck.”

Lisa smiled widely. “Good luck! We'll order something for you too! Just get to know each other there.”

Before any of the two can say a thing, Jaebum and Lisa has already left their places and gone to the counter, leaving them behind.

Jisoo groaned. “I’m never good at this.”

“Dating?” Jinyoung was quick to react.

“I meant starting new series but yeah, that too.” Jisoo admitted, making Jinyoung laugh a little.

There was another moment of silence. None of them are saying anything, just scanning through the list Jaebum gave them—probably for the third time in the past ten minutes already.

Just how can they magically be at ease with each other when just a few hours ago, there was definitely tension between stares? But at the same time, the urge they were feeling a while ago was somehow resolved now by actually knowing each other.

A few minutes later, Lisa came back with a tray of fries and burger. She did not say a word. She just left the tray in front of them with a big smile on her face then left in an instant.

It’s a pretty weird and awkward situation but there’s nothing they can do except to deal with it.

Jinyoung then took his phone from his pocket then started typing something.

“What are you doing? Are you actually scrolling through your phone in the middle of a date?” Jisoo asked. “That’s a no-no!”

Jinyoung didn't say anything then faced his phone to Jisoo instead.

“Questions to ask on a first date.” Jisoo reads what Jinyoung has typed on his search bar. “Seriously?”

“Well, this is better than not talking, right?” Jinyoung says taking a piece of French fries before continuing. “Eighty-four questions—“

“Eighty-four?” Jisoo echoed. “That’s too many!” she moved closer to Jinyoung peeking at his phone.

“Thirteen Great First Date Questions Backed by Science.” Jisoo reads. “Hm that’s weird.”

“How about this,” Jinyoung says. “Thirty-one questions to ask on a date that could actually lead to a good conversation.” Jinyoung clicked the article without waiting for Jisoo’s response. “What is something that people couldn't guess just by looking at you?”

“Hm,” Jisoo took a moment to think. “That I like balancing things on top of my head?”

“You what?” Jinyoung asked, totally confused.

“I love balancing stuff—mostly bottles—on top of my head.” Jisoo repeated nonchalantly. “How about you? What’s something people can’t guess at first sight?”

“I don't eat egg yolk.” Jinyoung replied.

“What? But that’s the best thing!” Jisoo said. “And hey, how could anyone even guess that at first sight? That’s a random fact.”

Jinyoung just shrugged, drifting his eyes back to his phone. “Second question on the list—“

“Wait!” Jisoo stopped him, almost too excitedly that she grabbed Jinyoung’s arm involuntarily.

Jinyoung turned to her quickly.

“I have an idea!” Jisoo announces as she stands up and searches for Jaebum and Lisa in the restaurant.

“Jaebum!” Jisoo called. “Im Jaebum!”

Jinyoung just watches her, a bit embarrassed because she’s calling him a bit too loud and way too excited.

“Jaebum!” Jisoo called once again before Jaebum appeared beside them, Lisa trailing behind him, looking worried.

“What’s up? You’re too loud.” Jaebum says.

“Everything okay?” Lisa asks.

Jisoo smiled widely. “I’ve got an idea.”

Jaebum walks to the camera, stops the recording, then sits back in front of the two.

“What is it?”

“For the first episode,” Jisoo started. “Why don't we feature questions you ask on a first date?”

“This isn’t your first date.” Jaebum said quickly. “You’re supposed to be _already_ dating.”

“I know.” Jisoo mumbles. “We can say something about how awful our first date was. We can say that our friends set us up, which is not entirely a lie— _technically_ —then we’ll say it was awkward but we still hit it off. But now, we want to help others so we’ll see if these stuff on the internet are really good conversation starters.”

Jisoo finishes off with a wide smile.

“And you said you’re not excited for this?” Jaebum asks.

“I’m not. I’m just making this work.” Jisoo replied.

“Whatever you say.” Jaebum said shrugging with as smug smile as he walks back to the camera. “Sounds good to me, though. What do you think, Lisa?”

“We could try that. But make sure you got your stories right. We don’t want a dead silence in the middle of filming.” Lisa reminded.

“Of course.” Jisoo agreed before turning to Jinyoung. “Okay, let’s get our story straight. We first met at dinner? Brunch?”

“Brunch sounds better.” Jinyoung replied.

Jisoo nods. “And our friends set us up and it was really awkward at first but what brought us together?”

There was silence, the two of them just awkwardly thinking.

“Coffee?”

“Books.”

Jisoo and Jinyoung said in chorus as they turn to each other resulting to yet another embarrassing staring contest.

“Sounds good.” Jisoo says. “Not too far from the truth.”

Jinyoung smiled faintly as he nods.

“So I think that’s about it.” Jisoo said. “We’ll go through the questions now and deal with the opening spiel later, sounds good?”

Jisoo turned to Jaebum to which he just answered with an okay sign before pressing the camera’s play.

Jisoo turned back to Jinyoung. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

 

 

“Okay, guys, I think that’s enough.”

Twenty-seven questions later, Jaebum decided to cut Jisoo and Jinyoung off from their Q-and-A session because of two things. First, his camera battery is about to die and he forgot to bring an extra for when they film the show’s opening spiel. Second, Jisoo and Jinyoung are weirdly lost in their conversation that Jaebum fears they are forgetting they’re in the middle of filming.

They basically talked about all the random things and have learned more about each other in the past hour than Jaebum or Lisa has known them individually in the past years.

“Really?” Jisoo mumbles turning from Jinyoung’s phone to Jaebum. “Are you sure? There are five questions left.”

Jaebum nodded. “Yeah, we got more than enough for a ten-minute pilot. It’s pretty obvious that you got lost in the conversation but just in case you didn't notice, you were talking for about an hour.”

“Yeah,” Lisa agreed, taking her seat in front of Jisoo. “I actually felt like I need to leave to give you two some time alone.”

Jisoo tried to hide it but it was so obvious that she was flustered by the way her face turned red and at how quick she moved away from Jinyoung.

Jinyoung was a bit embarrassed too but seeing how his new girlfriend reacted, he can’t help but to just smile.

“Let’s take five then we’ll film your opening spiel.” Jaebum says as he walks back to the table, resuming his seat beside Lisa.

“How are we going to do it that’s not so cringe-y?” Jisoo wondered.

“I can take care of making it not too cringe-y. I can edit it in a natural way or something.” Jaebum confidently says. “Just go over with you spiel and say the important stuff.”

“Well,” Jisoo turned to Jinyoung. “Let’s introduce ourselves and—wait, what is this thing called?”

“ _This thing_?” Jinyoung echoed.

“Yeah, what are we calling this series?” Jisoo continued.

“Oh, the title.” Jinyoung said.

“About that, “ Jaebum mumbles. “How about _Couple Diaries_?”

“Ew!”

“Lame!”

Lisa and Jisoo said in chorus while Jinyoung crunched his nose in disapproval.

“Okay, you have better ideas?” Jaebum coldly asks.

“The Honeymoon Stage? Since they’re new.” Lisa suggests.

“That’s worse than couple diaries!” Jisoo disagreed.

There was a brief moment of silence, just the four of them thinking, before they started spitting random title ideas over each other.

“Us?”

“Too plain.”

“Two is better than one?”

“Cute but too long.”

“Dating 101. Classic.”

“Sounds like a tutorial channel.”

“Couple Diaries still sound better than that.”

“The Js?” Lisa mindlessly mumbles while chewing a piece of fry after almost twenty minutes of brainstorming for the series title. “Since they’re both Js—Jisoo and Jinyoung.”

“Why not just Jisoo and Jinyoung? Jinyoung and Jisoo?” Jisoo says. “I mean sounds simpler and more, I don't know, connected?”

“Hold up,” Lisa’s eyes shines like a kid’s on a candy store. “How about creating a ship name for you two? I mean, fans love that!”

“ _Shipping_?” Jinyoung echoed, totally lost. “What do you mean shipping? Like sailing of ships?”

All three shot Jinyoung a look as if not believing he is serious with his question.

“What?” Jinyoung says.

“You really don't know what _shipping_ means in the twenty-first century?” Jisoo asks.

“Why? Do words change it’s meaning in the new millennia?” Jinyoung asks.

Jisoo rolls her eyes. “I meant in the twenty-first century pop culture.”

“Shipping, derived from the noun relationship, is a term in fandom culture where fans pair up characters or celebrities who they want to be together—either platonic, but mostly, romantic.” Jisoo continued explaining. “Fans create ship names for, I don't know, creativity and branding?”

“It’s basically combining the names of the pair they are pairing. For example, DaraGon, SungJoy, Jelena, Bragelina, you know those people.” Lisa explains. “So for you two, Jinyoung and Jisoo…”

Lisa trails off, thinking.

“SooYoung?” Jaebum suggests.

“That’s my sister’s name.” Jinyoung said.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry.” Jaebum pursed his lips, smiling.

“JinSoo?” Jisoo suggests.

“Doesn't have much appeal to it.” Jaebum replied.

“YoungJi?” Jinyoung tried.

“Same with that.”

“Jinji!” Lisa announced in a voice that sounds almost like a squeal. “Oh my gosh, it sounds so cute.”

“I like the sound of it.” Jaebum nods.

“Sounds good to me too.” Jinyoung says turning to Jisoo.

Jisoo smiled softly. “Jinji it is.”

Another hour later, they packed up filming with a two-hour long footage that Jaebum has to fit in a ten-minute episode. Sounds like a taxing job but it really succeeded his expectations. He thought forcing two random strangers act like they’re in love would give him a hard time. But turns out, pairing up his best friends doesn't sound so bad.

 

***

 

Seems like it has already been Jinyoung’s routine to wake up early in the morning for an hour-long run and grab his coffee in the coffee shop three blocks away from their apartment (there’s a coffee shop right across their apartment complex but, for _some reasons_ , he liked going all the way to that place for coffee) only to spend the rest of the day sleeping in.

It’s not like he has anything else to do anyway. One of the main reasons he’s here is Jaebum’s job offer which was the couple series. Other than that, he has no other business to be here in Seoul. He doesn't know yet how to feel about the whole make-believe couple thing. He wasn’t entirely against the idea, even though he’s certain it’s something _not_ legal. He just needed something to distract him and that sounds like just the right thing to distract him.

Now that he met his new girlfriend though, seems like he got more distraction than he bargained for.

“Hey, are you listening to me?”

Too much of a distraction that Jinyoung forgot his sister is seated in front of him. This is the first time he’s seeing his sister since she visited him in New York four years ago and yet, here he is not even minding her.

“What was that again? Sorry, I got lost for a while.” Jinyoung admitted

But instead of scolding him for not listening, she sighed and gave her little brother a sympathetic smile—which Jinyoung isn’t a fan of. He hates how her sister, or anyone else in that matter, feels like they have the need to pity him.

“I said I’m leaving my car keys with you. You can keep my car to use around the city.” Sooyoung, his sister, repeated.

Jinyoung hates it even more when people help him out of pity.

“The company I work at lets me use the company car anyway, so don't worry—“

Jinyoung cut her off and speaks sternly. “I don't need your car. I don't even go out why would I need a car?”

“Okay, Jinyoung,” the smile on Sooyoung’s face fades. “I’m just trying to help here. We all do. It’s not because we feel bad for you.”

Jinyoung turns away, hating it even more that his sister is lecturing him right now.

“We want to help you because we care for you.” Sooyoung continued. “And we can’t do that if you won’t even let us in.”

Jinyoung didn't say a word. Amidst all, what he hates the most is the fact that, in the back of his mind, he knows he needs the help they’re all giving. But he will never give in.

Sooyoung leans in and put her car keys on the dining table between them two.

“You can’t do anything anyway, I’m leaving this here.” Sooyoung mumbles just in time as her phone rings. “That must be Minhyuk. I asked him to pick me up.”

Sooyoung stands up. Jinyoung didn't want to walk her to door, didn't even want to stand but it’s something he can’t do to his sister. No matter how nosy and annoying he thinks she is, she’ll always be his sister and they will always stick together.

So Jinyoung followed her, she’s already by the door right now, twisting the knob.

Sooyoung turned to her just before she opens the door, wrapping her arms around her brother.

“Call me, okay?” She says, letting Jinyoung go. “And mom too. You haven’t called her since get back, didn't you? Please, she’s been bugging to tell me to tell you to call her.”

Jinyoung smiled guiltly, nodding as he scratches the back of his head. “I will, I will.”

Sooyoung smiles then she walks out the door, Jinyoung shutting the door softly behind her as she leaves.

Jinyoung walked right back inside their apartment, straight to the couch to lay down, forgetting about washing the mug her sister used for coffee.

He stretched his legs on the couch, which was a little bit short for his body, his feet hanging over the armrest.

It’s been a year and people still greets him with that sympathetic smile which he hates. It’s been a year and people still feel the urge to feel sorry for him. It’s been a year and people are still telling him it’s going to be okay.

It’s been a year yet he knows it will never be okay.

He puts an arm over his eyes as he shuts it, letting the darkness cover him.

He stayed still, motionless and his mind empty. He takes deep breaths, slow and careful breaths. For a moment, he’s calm. He’s mind is at peace. Finally, he felt like slumber is coming to him.

Until he saw her face.

Because, just like everytime he shuts his eyes, he sees her. He remembers her. But it is when he shuts his eyes that he sees her very vividly. Like light in the darkness. Like what she really is. Like what she has always been.

Then Jinyoung started to feel pain in his chest. At first it wasn't too serious. It’s like heat but it worsens. His chest feels tight; there’s actual pain he feels in chest just by thinking of her.

She was his everything. How can she cause him pain right now?

Jinyoung sits up on the couch aggressively, clutching his chest tight as he catches his breath.

He doesn't know what to do. He doesn't want to feel the pain anymore but he doesn't want to end it either.

He stood up and ran to the door. He doesn't know where to go, he doesn't know what to do.

But he’s sure he needs a little bit of distraction.

 

 

Post It is yet to be a decade-old media outlet but it’s safe to say that it is one of the best Internet media company with the guts of competing against that of American media. For about ten years, the company has garnered a reputation of being a relevant, up-to-date, and yet fun pillar of pop culture in the present day.

The company produces different sorts of materials for all sorts of audience and with a huge worldwide following, the pressure is mostly on the people behind the camera. The ones producing shows, coming up with concepts, the ones filming, editing—everyone who works together to create one material.

People like Jisoo and Jaebum.

Post It has a general rule for new series. The series has yet to have at least ten thousand raw YouTube views within twenty-four hours before it gets picked up to be a regular show. Post It produces tons of content everyday with only a few of them having a sustainable and long term quality so it’s just right for each material to go through a scrutinizing process.

It’s nine in the evening and it has been thirteen hours since the first episode of _Jinji_ was uploaded on Post It’s _Life_ channel. Since it’s was uploaded, the ten-minute video of Jisoo and Jinyoung going over what questions to ask on a date has garnered six thousand and forty-one views and has been shared for over a hundred and fifty times on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram combined. Good figures but still far from their quota, and with about ten hours remaining on their clock, it’s never too late to be a little bit worried.

Well, Jisoo is at least nervous just like how she always is whenever she’s launching a new series. Jaebum however, is looking rather too calm even though he’s the series producer and if this show fails to get ten thousand views tonight, he’s most likely going to pack his things and leave the headquarters the next morning.

“Calm down, guys.” Jaebum said for what seems like the fifth time today. “We already hit six-k views and we haven’t even entered primetime.”

He is calmly sitting on his cubicle while Mark and Jisoo are leaning on the divider after asking him how’s the views are going so far. Most of the people in the office are already out, it’s a Friday for crying out loud, but the three of them along with Lisa, Bambam—the junior editor—and Youngjae, Jaebum’s Associate Editor for Soul City, are still at the HQ supporting Jaebum as he wait for his views to come up.

“Right now, we’re on the second part of boosting, cross-posting on Twitter and Facebook just as people get off of work. We got this.” Jaebum added.

“I almost forgot how cocky you are until now.” Jisoo said with a sigh, giving up being a nice friend. “I’m hungry. Who wants to buy food with me?”

“Me.” Mark says as he pulls out his wallet from his bag.

“Me too!” Youngjae announces excitedly as he stands up.

“Bambam? Lisa?” Jisoo asks.

“Nah. Gonna sleep instead but can you get me something to eat too?” Bambam asks. “Whatever you buy will be good.”

“Eat whatever I’ll buy.” Mark said. “Lisa?”

“Well, I’m actually here to finish some stuff and not _just_ to support Jaebum so can you get me something too? A sandwich will do. Thanks!”

Jisoo, Mark and Youngjae make a quick trip at the snack bar just across the building to buy food for everyone. It’s going to be a long night so they just decided to get food that they can all share. While waiting for their food to get ready, Jisoo and Mark went to the convenience store next to the snack bar to buy some beer. Just a couple of cans to keep them awake tonight and for when they celebrate once they reached their quota.

“Jaebum is too confident.” Jisoo mumbles as Mark walks back to her at the fridge with a basket in hand.

“He’s always confident.” Mark corrected her as he takes beer cans from the fridge.

Jisoo smiled. “I know, but he’s _too_ confident this time. I’m getting nervous.”

Mark turned to her giving her a look.

“What?” Jisoo asked, closing the fridge door that Mark hasn't closed yet.

“You’re nervous because it’s you on the screen.” Mark answers. “You’re nervous because it’s actually your life on the line here. Well, love life, to be exact.”

“No.” Jisoo answered sternly, turning her back on Mark, which the latter simply answered with a chuckle, as she walks straight to counter.

“That’s not a question.” Mark says as he puts down the basket on the counter.

“You’re always better when you don't talk, you know that?” Jisoo said.

Mark chuckles as he finishes with the beer, Jisoo grabbing more snacks as the cashier person checks out their stuff.

“The last time he was this confident was when he proposed to _her_ three years ago.” Mark suddenly blurted as they exit the convenience store.

Jisoo let out a breathy laugh. “Was that supposed to make me feel better? Because we both know how that ended up and I kinda don't want this series to be like that.”

Mark couldn't answer with anything but a chuckle.

They met with Youngjae at their building’s entrance and Jisoo quickly helped him with the paper bags he’s holding as they enter the building.

Jisoo and Youngjae are fighting for the few pieces of the potato wedges they got free from ordering chicken, as the wait for the elevator.

“Yeah, I’m here to visit my friend.”

Jisoo heard a voice that immediately caught her attention away from food—and that’s a big deal.

Jisoo looks around the lobby and there she found him, standing by the front desk, looking like he’s negotiating with the security guards over something.

Jisoo crossed her arms on her chest, surprising Youngjae because she surrenders the last piece of potato wedge. Youngjae looked up on Jisoo making sure she’s surrendering before taking the potato to his mouth with the widest smile.

The elevator doors open but Jisoo remains in her place, still watching Jinyoung lose his patience talking to the strict security of the building.

“Hey, let’s go—what are you looking at?” Youngjae asks.

“Who’s that?” Mark added turning to where Jisoo is facing. Now, the three of them are watching poor Jinyoung.

“My boyfriend.” Jisoo nonchalantly answered.

Mark crunched his brows in confusion.

“Oh, he’s the guy in the video!” Youngjae exclaimed too excitedly, like he just solved a very difficult puzzle. “Jin—Jinyoung, right?”

Jisoo nods. “What is he doing here?”

“Visiting Jaebum?” Youngjae replied.

“At ten in the evening?” Jisoo asked.

“Why don't you go to him and ask?” Mark suggests. “Looks like he needs some help too.”

Jisoo hands the paper bag she’s holding to Youngjae before walking to the front desk.

“Hey,” Jisoo mumbles getting both Jinyoung’s and the guard’s attention.

“What’s up?” Jisoo added when Jinyoung turned to her.

“Hey!” Jinyoung greeted back, a bit too excitedly at first before he cleared his throat. “Glad you’re here.”

Jisoo smiled at Jinyoung before turning to the guard.

“What do we have here?” Jisoo asked the guard.

“You know him?” The guard asked back. “He insists on going up your office to meet Mr. Im but he has no ID to surrender.”

Jisoo turned to Jinyoung. “He doesn't?”

Jinyoung looked away, confirming.

“You know what,” Jisoo turned to the guard first before putting her hand on Jinyoung’s shoulder. “He’s my boyfriend.” She says surprising both the guard and Jinyoung. “And he has a pretty bad memory, he probably forgot his wallet at home again, right?”

Jisoo turned back to Jinyoung and it took him a couple of minutes before answering. “Yeah. Again.”

“Can you let him in? I got this.” Jisoo assures the guard.

Jisoo puts her hand from Jinyoung’s shoulder and links their arms together. “I promise he’s a good guy.”

The guard thinks for a while before sighing. “Just this once, Miss Kim. Next time, he has to bring an ID or he can’t visit his girlfriend.”

Jisoo and Jinyoung exchanged looks before Jisoo turned back to the guard.

“Yeah, we’ll keep that in mind, thanks a lot man.” Jisoo said then she pushed Jinyoung to the direction of the elevator where Mark and Youngjae are waiting.

“Why didn't you bring an ID with you?” Jisoo mumbles but before Jinyoung could answer, Jisoo is already introducing him to Mark and Youngjae.

“Hey guys,” Jisoo started. “Here’s my virtual boyfriend, Jinyoung.”

Jinyoung shot Jisoo a look before turning to the two strangers in front of them.

“Don't worry, they’re part of Post It too and they pretty much know what’s up.” Jisoo explains.

“Hey,” Mark nods. “Mark.”

“What’s up?” Youngjae greets. “I’m Youngjae, associate producer of Soul City—that’s Jaebum’s show in case you don't know.”

Jinyoung just nods as he mumbles his name.

When the elevator doors open, the four of them quickly stepped in.

“What are you doing here?” Jisoo asks as she enters, Jinyoung following her in when both Mark and Youngjae mentioned him to go ahead inside.

“Jaebum told me to come.” Jinyoung answered, stepping back, as Mark and Youngjae with the bags are holding squeeze in.

“This late?” Jisoo asks, stepping inside further as more people gets inside squeezing them in.

“He said something about meeting a goal tonight?” Jinyoung replied.

“Yeah.” Jisoo agreed. “Let’s pray to God we meet that goal tonight.”

 

 

It’s past twelve, primetime has long been over and Jinji’s first episode is nine hundred and eleven views away from being a regular series. They have finished three boxes of pizza, four dozens of chicken and about a couple of beers in the past five hours. By this time, Mark, Bambam and Youngjae are already sleeping, Lisa and Jisoo were able to watch two movies and Jaebum has been cross-posting the video and monitoring the views all while Jinyoung is watching them.

They were great—they’re all nice and accommodating, Jinyoung didn't feel left out at all. It's like he found a bunch of new friends he never thought he’ll find. But he did and while it’s fun and comforting, Jinyoung can’t help but feel a tiny bit of envy in his heart.

Still, it was the distraction he needs.

“Hey,” Jisoo said appearing beside Jinyoung in the couch.

“Hey,” Jinyoung mumbles, scooting over to give Jisoo enough space.

“Jaebum didn't really have to drag you here you know.” Jisoo started. “But thanks for pulling an all-nighter with us.”

“You didn't have to be here too.” Jinyoung says. “I mean, from the looks of it, you’re not here to work. All of you.”

Jisoo smiled in guilt. “Well, yeah. But it’s sort of our thing as a group. This is the least we can do to support each other.”

Jinyoung nods and there was silence which, surprisingly, isn’t too awkward. Both of them are silently thinking ways on how to keep the conversation.

“This is weird isn’t it?” Jisoo breaks the silence, turning to Jinyoung. “We’re going to work so closely together for the next months and yet I know so little about you.”

“You know that I don’t eat the yolk. Your favorite show growing up is _Juddy Abbott_. You know I hate dancing and your dream destination is Paris. I think we pretty much know a lot about each other.” Jinyoung answered.

Jisoo smiled weakly. “How many times did you watch the episode?”

Jinyoung answered with a shrug, laughing.

“That’s all trivial, you know? And forced.” Jisoo mumbles. “I mean, those questions you find in the Internet for first dates is just good to keep you occupied. I bet we even lied with some of our answers.”

“I didn't.” Jinyoung denied confidently.

“Really? You said your favorite place is the kitchen and that is such a made up answer.” Jisoo said. “You lived in New York for a year, and you didn't like it there?”

Jinyoung was taken a back and, for a while, Jisoo thought it might be wrong to pick up something she just learned about Jinyoung over dinner.

Jinyoung shakes his head. “I don't like it there. Not anymore.”

Jisoo watches Jinyoung as he stares ahead. There’s something about him that drives her in. He is holding back, it’s like he’s hiding a lot of things inside of him that he didn't want others to see. Normally, Jisoo wouldn't care. But there’s something about Jinyoung that makes her curious.

“What’s your deal?” Jisoo asked, thinking out loud.

“What?” Jinyoung turned to her.

“What’s your deal? Why did you agree with Jaebum’s crazy plan?” Jisoo asked.

Jinyoung looked in Jisoo’s eyes, examining her and her question.

“What’s _your_ deal?” Jinyoung returned the question instead of answering. “You seem to hate the idea of being my girlfriend so much.”

Jisoo’s eyes widened, obviously caught off guard. “Not that I hate it, in fact I—wait, there’s no way, I’m going to answer this right. If I said I hate it, you’ll say I hate _you_ and if I say otherwise, you’ll think _I_ like you.”

Jinyoung couldn't help but break into a soft laughter. “That’s not what I mean. I meant what made you agree to do this?”

Jisoo takes a deep breath, thinking how she will answer.

“I owe Jaebum big time.” Jisoo finally answered, looking straight ahead. Both of them are now staring at Jaebum whose head is buried in his desktop monitor. “As big as my life, I guess.”

Jinyoung stared at Jisoo as if asking her to continue.

Jisoo takes a deep breath. “I was twenty-two and I didn't know what to do with my life. I’m basically giving up until Jaebum told me to apply at Post It even though video making has nothing to do with my major.”

“What was your major?” Jinyoung asked.

Jisoo smiled shyly. “Culinary.”

“That’s why your series is about food.” Jinyoung mumbles.

“How’d you know? Did you stalk me?” Jisoo asked.

“No.” Jinyoung strongly denied. “Jaebum told me.”

“So you asked him. You’re curious about me, aren’t you?” Jisoo wiggles her brows, teasing Jinyoung.

Jinyoung shakes his head smiling.

“Hey,” Jisoo suddenly asks. “I was the one asking!”

“What’s your deal?” Jisoo repeated.

Jinyoung’s smile fades into a blank expression. He’s thinking deep and at the same time, emptying his mind. There it is again. He is feeling the tight hand on his chest again, as if stopping him from breathing.

He turned to Jisoo who is looking at him, intently waiting for his reply.

Jinyoung stares back at Jisoo, at her clear eyes and it was calming, comforting even. It was as if the hand clutching his chest is slowly letting go.

Jinyoung breaks into a soft smile.

“I owe him my life.” He finally replies. “Literally.”

It sounds like he’s mocking her at first. But there was something in his eyes and his voice that tells Jisoo he’s telling the truth. That it’s more than just saving a hopeless and lost young woman that she was. She can’t tell for sure what and how Jinyoung owe Jaebum his life but Jisoo believes in his words.

They were staring at each other again until Jinyoung breaks the stare and turns ahead to where Jaebum’s cubicle is.

For a while, they just stayed still watching Jaebum. The one who links them two. The one who made all this happen. The one reason why they met each other. Their common denominator.

They turned to each other almost at the same time and flashed the softest smile. Then, they found themselves staring at each other again; just like how they did the first time they met each other. Only this time, it’s a bit more welcoming.

“FUCK YEAH!”

Jaebum’s voice roared in the empty room waking up Mark, Youngjae and Bambam, scaring the shit out of Lisa in the bathroom and pulling Jisoo and Jinyoung from their thoughts.

None of them bothered getting angry though. Jaebum’s excitement only means one thing.

“Ten thousand,” Mark mumbles leaning behind Jaebum, peeking at YouTube’s view count. “Fifty-five—“

“And counting!” Jaebum interrupted him.

Mark just shakes his head as he continued. “Ten thousand and fifty _seven_ views in about seventeen hours. Congratulations on your new series, Im Jaebum!”

“You did it!” Lisa exclaims as she gets to Jaebum’s cubicle, appearing beside Mark.

“In your fucking face, Kim Dohwan!” Jaebum screamed as he aggressively gets off his chair.

He walks to the table behind him and took a can of beer, opened it and chugged it in.

“Let’s celebrate, Jaebum!” Bambam cries as he puts his arm around Jaebum’s shoulder.

Jaebum puts down the empty can and shakes Bambam off of him.

“Nah, I’m good.” Jaebum says as he walks back to his cubicle to shut his computer off. He then took his bag and turn to his way out.

“Wait, you’re leaving just like that?” Jisoo asked, grabbing his arm.

“Dude, I’m tired. I haven’t been sleeping for three days. This series premiere has taken all of my energy. I need to fucking sleep.” Jaebum replied.

“This is what you called me here for?” Jinyoung asked.

“No.” Jaebum took his car keys from his pocket and threw it to Jinyoung. “That is what I called you here for.”

“Well, congratulations, Jaebum.” Youngjae says walking ahead, slapping Jaebum on the chest when he passed by him. “But I’ll get going too. Coco is waiting for me at home.”

“Well then, good night guys!” Mark greeted as he walks to the makeshift bedroom they have in the HQ for when they pull an all-nighter.

“Guess I’ll just sleep here too.” Bambam said, following Mark. “Too tired to take the subway. Good night guys!”

All the while, Lisa is already fixing her things on her cubicle. “I’ll go ahead too then, I’ve got someone waiting for me downstairs. See guys on Monday!” she said dashing out of the HQ.

“Okay, that was weird?” Jinyoung mumbles turning to Jisoo.

Jisoo chuckled. “This is what happens when you're too stressed at work and all you want is to get sleep.”

“This is what happens when you cram.” Jaebum says walking to the door. “Hey, you,” he says to Jisoo, ruffling her hair. Jinyoung turned away. He didn't quite know if the sight is something he should expect from his best friend and supposed to be girlfriend.

“Thanks for helping me out.” Jaebum continued. “But go home, it’s late.”

Jaebum turned to Jinyoung. “You. I’m going to thank you after you drive me home. Come on.”

Jaebum didn't even wait for Jinyoung to react. He just then dashed out of the door, leaving Jinyoung and Jisoo.

“Yeah, he needs to sleep.” Jisoo mumbles.

“And you? You’re not yet going home?” Jinyoung asked Jisoo.

“I think I’m going to stay here for a while.” Jisoo replied. “I don't want to drive alone at wee times.”

Jinyoung nods. “Yeah that’s better.”

“And you should get going too or Jaebum’s gonna doze off somewhere in the elevator.” Jisoo said. “Drive safe, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I will. Bye.” Jinyoung says as he turns her back on Jisoo.

Jisoo watched him as he walk to the door until he paused and turned back to Jisoo.

“I guess I’ll see you around, my girlfriend?” Jinyoung says.

Jisoo breaks into a smile. “Yeah, see you for the next episode, boyfriend.”

 

***

 

The sun has already risen when Jisoo left the HQ. She dropped Bambam and Mark in the subway station and went home, grabbing breakfast for herself on her way.

It’s already late morning when she got to her apartment complex. She parked at her usual spot and went straight to her unit. Just like Jaebum, she hadn’t had much sleep over the week either. Since her recent trip from Japan, she has never really had the time for a proper rest. She had to gather all her learnings from the seminar she attended in Japan, she finished all the work she left undone and she’s been preparing for Fusion’s upcoming new season—all while helping Jaebum with his new show—now, officially, Jinji.

She’s exhausted and the first thing she wants to do when she get home is to throw herself in her bed and take a really long slumber.

So she excitedly unlocks her door and steps in an instant. She puts the sandwich she brought in the fridge. She doesn’t feel so hungry now after finishing the coffee she bought.

“Where have you been?”

Jisoo froze in her place. She is not a believer of spiritual being—at least not when the sun is high and it’s noon—and she’s more afraid of living people who are more capable of killing her. So when she heard someone speak, all that she has in mind is how the fuck will she kill this murderer before it kills her?

She tightened her grip on the fridge as she hears footsteps to her direction, praying silently as she thinks of ways to get out of her house.

She’s shaking. It’s so obvious that she fears that the intruder will think she’s weak. When she heard her laugh, it’s as if her soul left her body. Of course.

Who else can enter her apartment? Who else knows that the passcode of her house is her dog’s birthday?

Who else will go into her house without any notice?

Only her best friend Jennie Kim will.

“What the fuck, Jennie?” Jisoo mumbles in frustration as she turns around. And there she is, leaning on her kitchen top, dressed classy as usual. Her best friend who she hasn’t seen in about two years. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

“Where have you been?” Jennie asked instead of answering.

“What are you doing here breaking into my apartment?”

“Why didn’t you go home last night?”

“You were here all night?”

“You’re with your boyfriend, aren’t you?”

“You’re supposed to be in Milan!”

As if Jisoo said a magic word of some sort, Jennie leans off the kitchen top and clears her throat.

“I went to visit my best friend who didn’t even bother to tell me she has a boyfriend.” Jennie finally answers. “If I didn’t see that video in my Facebook timeline, I wouldn’t even know.”

Jisoo’s eyes widened, feeling accused.

“Okay first of all, he’s not my boyfriend.” Jisoo explained. “Second, did you really fly from Milan to Seoul just because of that? Which is by the way completely impossible because we just uploaded the video yesterday and there’s no way you could’ve been here that fast.”

Jisoo crosses her arms on her chest, looking at her best friend intently. She can’t be here. She’s supposed to be in Milan slaying the runway and posing for magazines because that’s what international super models are supposed to do; not breaking into someone else’s apartment.

Jennie sighed heavily, turning away and walking back to Jisoo’s couch where she has been waiting since last night.

“First of all,” Jennie imitated Jisoo as she slumps herself on the sofa. “Think about changing your passcode. Second,” she leans back on the sofa then crosses her legs. “I ran away.”

“What?” Jisoo’s eyes widen even more, her eyes could pop out. “No. You can’t do that! You’re kidding, right?”

“I wish I am.” Jennie replied. She locked eyes with Jisoo and smiled weakly.

Jisoo sighed. She didn’t really need that answer. She knows Jennie by the back of her hand and just by looking at her sitting in her couch right now, she knows she’s into some kind of trouble.

Jisoo walks to her living room and sat on her wooden center table, right in front of Jennie.

“What happened?” Jisoo said sympathetically.

Jennie sighed, her eyes closed. “It just got so fucked up and I’m so stressed I started missing home even more.”

Jisoo frowned and reached for Jennie’s hand.

“I got one more year on my contract and we were already in talks of extending it—which was great. That means I’m going to be a senior model and senior models have more privilege, I figured maybe I can visit home more often.” Jennie continued. “But no. They’re going to lock me up much longer. Five more years. Five more years of not coming home, of being stuck in a place too far from home. Five years away from friends and family. Five years more without Jaebum. Did they think I’ll agree with that? And it’s not like they’re giving me a choice. No. They’re already making me a prisoner. I’m—“

“Hold on,” Jisoo cuts her off, raising a finger. “Did you just say five years more without Jaebum?” Jisoo’s confused eyes turned bright in ecstasy. “Oh my gosh. So you mean you came back here because of Jaebum?”

Jisoo’s too excited that Jennie didn't want to be a bitch but she still did.

“No.” Jennie answered sternly.

“You just said you ran away because don't want to be stuck in a contract of _five years without Jaebum_ and you’re telling me you didn't come back for him?” Jisoo clarified.

“No.” Jennie repeatedly patiently. “It’s because I don't want to be their dummy for five more years.”

Jisoo sighed in frustration as she moves from the center table to sit on the couch beside Jennie.

“Okay.” Jisoo exhales. “I’m going to pretend that Jaebum isn’t a big part of all these running away stuff because you look really troubled but hey,” she turned to Jennie, putting her hand on her knee comfortingly. “I’m proud of you. For running away from something that you know you don't want.”

Jennie’s reply is a bittersweet reply.

“How long have you been home? Are you staying with your mom?” Jisoo asks.

“Yeah. And I’ve been here for a month…” Jennie trails off, sensing Jisoo’s incoming reaction. “About two months, actually.”

“Two months?!” Jisoo echoed. “You’ve been here for two months and you didn't even bother visiting me? Or even telling me?”

“You have a boyfriend and you didn't bother telling me either!” Jennie fired back instead of answering.

“That’s different! It’s not real!” Jisoo said.

“What? What’s not real?” Jennie asked in confusion. “Who’s that Jinyoung guy?

“He’s not my boyfriend.” Jisoo admitted. “It’s just for Jaebum’s stupid show. He thought about this show where we film a couple on dates—which doesn't sound so bad, right? But you know how crazy his ideas can get. He didn't want to cast a real couple so he asked me and his best friend—Jinyoung—instead to star as a make-believe couple.”

“But that’s fraud! You’re fooling thousands of people!” Jennie said. “What if you get caught?”

“That’s exactly what I told him.” Jisoo agreed.

“But you still agreed to him. You trust him that much?” Jennie asked.

“Well, I have no choice. He’s losing his job.” Jisoo replied.

“What do you mean?” The worry paints in Jennie’s face.

“I didn't want to believe it at first because Jaebum is my friend and I’d like to give him credit,” Jisoo took a deep breath. “But after what happened to you two, he just changed. It’s like he lost his faith in himself.”

Jennie looked away, the worry in her eyes was mixed with guilt.

“But this time, he looks like he got his confidence back and I don't want to be that person, but is it perhaps because you’re back too?” Jisoo mumbles with a teasing smile.

Jennie rolls her eye, trying so hard not to break into a smile which she failed, miserably. Because as Jisoo’s smile widens knowing she succeeded with teasing her best friend, Jennie’s gummy smile is also showing.

“Jennie Kim, I hate you for avoiding me but I can’t help but to miss you.” Jisoo sighed.

Jennie smiled in guilt. “I miss you too.” She says linking her arm into Jisoo’s and leaning on her shoulder.

“Admit it, you misses him too.” Jisoo mumbles.

Jennie didn't answer.

“He won’t say a thing,” Jisoo continues mumbling. “And honestly, he doesn't need to say it. But he obviously misses you.”

Even though her best friend cannot see her, Jennie flashes a weak, almost fake, smile.

“It’s not even a question anymore.” Jennie finally speaks. “But we just can’t go back to what it was.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof! Chapter 2 came a lot earlier than expected right?? hehe hope y'all liked this little surprise ^^ So by this time, I think it's a bit obvious that jenbum is a side pairing, right? hihi
> 
> Comments and reactions are always appreciated. The comment section, my dms and cc are always welcome for your them!
> 
> Chapter 3 will come as soon as it's ready!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! <3


	3. Rainy

Jennie should have known better. She has known Jisoo all her life and she should have known better that it is her best friend’s second nature to be late.

She expected it though, that Jisoo won’t be on time. But she gave her best friend some credit. They’re not so young anymore; perhaps she changed. So Jennie went to the café they’re supposed to meet at on time—three in the afternoon like they have agreed.

But it’s already quarter to four and Jisoo is nowhere in sight. Jisoo is almost an hour late and the rain, pouring harder and harder each minute, is just annoying Jennie even more.

Jennie reached for her chocolate chip frappuccino from the table and sips through the straw frustratingly, creating a noise as she does because there’s nothing left from her drink.

As the sound of rain gets angrier outside, Jennie’s phone started ringing.

“I’m sorry!” Jisoo cries as soon as Jennie answers the phone. “I took a nap and ended up sleeping too long. Can we meet at the subway instead? It’s nearer my house. Please? I’m really sorry. I’ll treat you ice cream, I promise!”

Jennie took an impatient sigh as she rolls her eyes. No matter how annoyed she was, she can never get angry with her best friend.

“I swear, if you make me wait in the subway again, I’ll go watch the film without you.” Jennie threatened.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes, I promise!” Jisoo promised and before Jennie can say anything, she heard noise in the other line. Looks like Jisoo carelessly stuffed her phone on her pocket without hanging up.

Jennie puts her phone inside her bag just before she leaves her seat. When she got out of the café, she was surprised and irritated to find her umbrella missing from the umbrella rack. There’s only one left in the rack—a black one that is far from the ruffled red umbrella she owns.

Why was suddenly everything is up against her?

The rain just poured harder and there’s no way she can walk to the subway without getting soaked and sick the next day.

She grunted as she takes her phone from her bag, calling Jisoo immediately but the latter is not answering.

Just as she redials Jisoo’s number, a guy rushed to the café’s front door to seek shed, making her jump a bit in surprise. Her soft wail from being surprised caught the guy’s attention, throwing her a look as he dries his hair—to no avail—with his hand.

Jennie immediately looked away when they locked eyes.

They stood there in silence, the guy hopelessly wiping his jacket while Jennie calls Jisoo once again only for the phone operator to tell her she’s out of reach.

“Is this yours?”

The guy suddenly asks.

Jennie is not the type to talk to strangers, especially strangers who look like they’re stuck on their emo phase, but the guy’s voice is so calming that she can’t help but to turn just to check if it’s really him talking.

When she turned, the guy is pointing at the black umbrella on the rack.

Jennie furrowed her eyebrows as she shakes her head.

The guy shrugged then took the umbrella.

“Hey, hey, that’s not yours.” Jennie says.

“How’d you know?” the guy asked.

“It has been there even before you came.” Jennie argued.

“That doesn't mean it’s not mine.” The guy replied.

Jennie’s eyes widen in disbelief.

“Hey!” Jennie stops the guy by grabbing his arm.

The guy gave her a look which told Jennie she should be scared but she didn't care.

He looked behind them, inside the café, an old man is coming to the door. He turned back to Jennie with a smirk before removing his arm from Jennie’s grip then grabbed her arm instead as he opens the umbrella—all in one swift move, surprising Jennie.

Before Jennie can even react, the guy is already pulling her close so they are both under the umbrella as they ran away from the café under the pouring rain.

“My umbrella! You fucking thieves!” the old man from the café screamed at them making them laugh instead of scared.

They continued running away from the café, the distance between them decreases with every step. Apart from covering their heads, the tiny umbrella didn't help much. The rain still gets their shoulder and arms wet so they inch even closer.

“I’m Im Jaebum.” The guy said, his voice so much softer and calmer than before, as they slow down in walking.

Something inside of Jennie tells her that running away with a stranger was a bad idea. But the guy’s laughter and his eyes almost disappearing from too much happiness gave some weird warmth in her heart in this cold rainy afternoon.

And they were young and young people are meant to make irrational decisions.

So Jennie smiled as she moves a bit to turn to Jaebum, not at all minding getting her back getting wet with the rain.

“I’m Jennie Kim.” Jennie replies with a soft smile.

 

***

 

Jaebum always loved the rain. It’s cold. It’s an excuse to stay at home and be lazy.

But most of all, he loves the rain because it reminds him of her.

The rain reminds him of the first time they met. The rain reminds him of their fights on stormy nights. The rain reminds him of cold Saturday mornings when they sleep in and cuddle on bed. The rain reminds him of them—it’s both calm and uncertain.

The rain will always remind him of Jennie Kim.

And just like every time that it rains, Jaebum will find himself looking from a far, thinking, reminiscing, missing her always.

“Please tell me you didn’t ask me to be here on a Wednesday morning just to stare at the rain drops on your window.” Jinyoung mumbles impatiently, reminding Jaebum that they are in Post It’s HQ.

It’s been five days since Jinji premiered and, as Jaebum expected, it’s slowly becoming a hit. From its ten thousand views on the first seventeen hours, the first episode alone has over two a million views right now and it’s not even a week. There has already been a lot of anticipation for the second episode. They’ve filmed it two days ago and it was just Jisoo and Jinyoung playing some random board games. Sounds boring but they actually got a footage of Jinyoung getting petty and pouty over losing so it’s going to be a really good episode.

It was indeed a success. But comes with this success is the pressure. Now, they all have to work extra harder to sustain the show’s following and to garner a few brands and companies to fund the show. This isn’t just some video-making project. This is business and business means hard work.

So, Jaebum invited Jinyoung over at the HQ to discuss the details of the series. He just realized that, a bit too late after the premiere, they haven’t had an actual preproduction meeting yet.

“Aren’t we going to start yet?” Jinyoung added.

Jaebum turned to him. “Hey, learn to wait, okay? And don’t act like you’re actually busy with something else. We’ll just wait for Jisoo and Rosé.”

As if on cue, the brain room’s (that’s how they call their room for brainstorming) door swings open as Jisoo and Rosé enter.

“Hey!” Jisoo excitedly greets, putting down her things, taking the spot next to Jaebum and right in front of Jinyoung.

“Hi, boyfriend.” Jisoo winked at Jinyoung to which the latter replied with a smile as he shakes his head.

The two of them got a little bit more comfortable with each other by now. They are slowly getting used to the whole virtual couple idea.

“Where have you been? We’ve been here for an hour.” Jaebum says. “You weren’t in your cubicle for the whole day.”

“I went out for Fusion. Some interview and stuff.” Jisoo says, taking her seat. “Which I have to get back to so let’s start, please.”

Jaebum took a deep breath. “Okay—oh, first of all, Rosé, this is Jinyoung. Jinyoung, this is Rosé. She’s Post It’s social media queen who will help us in the series.”

Rosé makes a face with Jaebum’s introduction as she takes a seat between Jisoo and Jinyoung.

“Hi,” Rosé greeted. “Technically, I’m a social media analyst so I know stuff about handling your social media accounts.”

“Our social media accounts?” Jisoo echoed. “You don’t actually mean our SNS accounts, right?”

“No.” Jaebum answers. “She just meant your SNS accounts.”

Jisoo rolled her eyes. “You can’t meddle with my personal accounts! Did you know how hard it was to deal with my friends and relatives after they saw the show? They were pestering me asking me all sorts of questions!”

“What did you tell them?” Jinyoung asked.

“The truth? I mean, our truth.” Jisoo replied. “I can’t tell them it’s all fake.”

“That’s what I’m here for, Jisoo.” Rosé winks at Jisoo. “We’ll start handling your personal accounts too because soon enough, fans will start dropping by your Instagram and Twitter accounts. If we're unlucky, they’ll find your Facebook too.”

“I can’t use my personal account.” Jinyoung said sternly.

Jisoo looked at Jinyoung from across the table with question in her eyes.

“Is there any other way we can do it without using their personal accounts?” Jaebum says, obviously taking Jinyoung’s side.

“Well…” Rosé trails off, feeling uneasy with the sudden decision of not using their personal accounts. “It will be a bit hard. I mean, Jisoo is a public figure. People know her and follows her on Instagram and Twitter. They’re already following her for quite a while and it’s a surprise that she suddenly has a boyfriend. A new face, in that matter. There’s zero trace of Jinyoung in her life—as seen in her social media—“

Rosé paused, realizing that they can’t really get the grip of what she’s talking about.

“People, the viewers, the fans only know her through her accounts—that’s their only mirror of her _personal life_ ,” Rosé motions quotation marks with her fingers as she explains. “And Jinyoung wasn't part of that personal life and now, all of a sudden, there he is a big part of that personal life.”

She sighed, knowing she’s saying too much boring stuff. “My point is, it’s not a necessity but people can get suspicious. I just checked her accounts this morning and there are already fans tweeting her and replying on her posts asking what’s up.”

Jisoo then took her phone and opened her Twitter.

“Jisoo! You’re in a relationship? That’s impossible!” Jisoo reads a reply tagged on her on the app. “Yup. People find it hard to believe.”

“What can we do?” Jaebum asks.

“Are you sure you don't want to use your personal account?” Rosé asked Jinyoung.

Jisoo waited for what seems like an eternity only to be answered with Jinyoung’s resounding yes.

“Sorry.” Jinyoung mumbles.

Rosé sighs. “Okay, then. Just make sure your account is on private and no one can hack into it. For now, we’ll just have to create one for you two. But, Jisoo, you still need to post photos of you two once in a while.”

“What?” Jisoo asks in disbelief. “That’s unfair! He gets to say no and I don't?”

Rosé and Jaebum exchanged looks.

“Yes.” Jaebum replied.

Jinyoung chuckled and when Jisoo turned to him, he mouthed a very annoying ‘sorry’.

Jisoo rolled her eyes.

“Okay, so are we settled with that now? You can’t do anything about it anyway, Jisoo.” Rosé said.

Jisoo grunted. “Whatever. I have no choice.”

“Great!” Rosé exclaimed. “I’ll go make your accounts and I’ll be back in a bit.”

Then, Rosé exits the room, leaving the three inside.

“Okay,” Jaebum started pushing a folder across the table, one each for Jisoo and Jinyoung. “I made an outline and schedule of all the dates we’ll be filming for the series. As of now, we only have budget for the first eight but we’ll get additional for the remaining. Check the dates now and block your schedules. Ideally, we’ll film two episodes per wee—“

“Wait, you’re really pushing through fifty dates?” Jisoo asks after scanning the document.

“Yes. We're following the article I showed you two.” Jaebum replied.

“But that’s a lot!” Jisoo says. “That’s going to take about two years.”

“Two years?” Jinyoung echoed.

“Yes. Two years. Four seasons.” Jisoo replied. “We usually have ten to twelve episodes per season then we take a bout three to four-month break before we start with another season. So to accomplish all fifty dates, that’s about two years including the breaks.”

“That’s too long.” Jinyoung turns to Jaebum. “I can’t stay for that long.”

Jisoo shots Jaebum a look before turning to Jinyoung. There’s definitely something going on here that they don't want to share.

“We’ll talk about that next time.” Jaebum says, as he stands up. “I’ve got to go film for Soul City.”

“What? Wait.” Jisoo says, grabbing Jaebum’s arm. “We should settle this now. He can’t stay for too long and I don't want a long series. Let’s cut it down.”

Jaebum looked at Jisoo then to Jinyoung as if to negotiate—which was pointless because both of them have made up their minds.

Jaebum sighed heavily. “Fine. Let’s cut it down to twenty-four. But that’s it. Give me at least two seasons.”

“Yay!” Jisoo exclaimed. “I knew it you can’t let us down. We’ll go through this and pick the dates. Now go to that filming of yours. Bye!”

Jisoo is basically pushing Jaebum out to the door now when he stopped on his track.

“You’re wearing perfume.” Jaebum mumbles, catching even Jinyoung’s attention.

“Huh?” Jisoo hums in confusion before realizing that she is, in fact, wearing perfume today.

“Oh, yes, I am!” Jisoo exclaimed, grinning. “Smells nice, right?”

“You don't wear perfume.” Jaebum said.

Jisoo’s smile dropped. “Hey, I do wear perfume, excuse me.”

“No. That’s not what I mean.” Jaebum replied. “I mean, you don't usually smell like that.”

“You smell like _her_.” Jaebum mumbles, turning to Jisoo with a sharp stare.

 _Oops_.

Jisoo’s ears felt hot. No. He didn't say any name but it’s obvious that Jaebum is talking about Jennie and Jennie specifically told her not to tell Jaebum she’s back.

“W-what are you talking about?” Jisoo says, trying so hard no to stutter. “How can I smell like her?”

Truth is, Jennie spent the night over Jisoo’s place and she happened to steal a few pumps of Jennie’s perfume before going to the office.

Jaebum looks at Jisoo, examining her.

“You know what, you just miss her.” Jisoo says confidently because she knows it’s game over for Jaebum.

And it is. He just scoffed before turning to the door.

Jisoo watched him step out of the door, exhaling loudly when he shut the door behind him.

“Shit. That was close.” Jisoo mumbles, mostly to herself, as she turns around. “Oh gosh, you’re still here.” She exclaimed when she realized she’s not alone in the room.

Jinyoung smiled widely. “Yes. And who is _she_? Did you just lie to Jaebum in front of a witness?”

“It’s not a lie!” Jisoo denied. “Not entirely. It’s a white lie, at most.”

Jinyoung looked at him with judging eyes.

“Ugh.” Jisoo grunted. “Do you want to get something to eat? It’s too stuffy here.”

 

 

“How come you don’t know her?” Jisoo asks Jinyoung.

They are the coffee shop at the corner of the street, the one where they first saw each other. But they don't talk about that.

They are sitting on the high stools facing the glass wall of the establishment.

“Are you sure you’re Jaebum’s best friend?” Jisoo added after taking a sip of her iced latte.

Jinyoung just sighed in reply, reaching for his share of the waffle they divided for them, because Jisoo had asked him twice already and he didn't want to answer the third time.

“Okay,” Jisoo surrendered. “She is Jennie. Jaebum’s girlfriend, err, ex-girlfriend. It’s still feels weird to call her an ex, you know?” she turned to Jinyoung before turning back to the wall, watching the calm rain. “Wait, you at least know your best friend and her got engaged, right?”

Jinyoung’s eyebrow furrow in surprise and confusion. Because no. While he’s pretty much aware that Jaebum was in a serious relationship for the time he was away, he didn't know it actually got that serious.

“Oh my gosh,” Jisoo exclaimed. “How can you call yourself as his friend?”

“We just never talked about that.” Jinyoung admitted. “I was…busy.”

“Anyway,” Jisoo continued, ignoring him. “Jennie is my best friend. I actually met Jaebum through her. They met back in college and you know those people who just have a tension between them? The good kind of tension, of course.”

“Those people that just have to be together and they eventually did. I don't even know how it happened. It’s just one day, I asked them what’s going on and they didn't even deny it. Then, I was a thirdwheel since.” Jisoo chuckles. “But I didn't care because they were _that_ couple. The kind of couple you always root for.”

“But they still broke up.” Jinyoung mumbles.

Jisoo sighs as she leans back to her seat. “And yet they still broke up.”

“What happened?” Jinyoung asked. He’s not really that curious. Or at least, he can ask Jaebum himself rather than talking behind his back. But he felt like it’s a question that needs to be asked.

“They became adult and they had to deal with adult problems.” Jisoo answered. “She had to leave and he let her.”

“And now she’s back?” Jinyoung asked.

“Yes.” Jisoo leans off her chair and turns to Jinyoung. “And you’re not going to tell Jaebum about it.”

“Why?” Jinyoung asked. Again, it’s something he didn't have to ask. He didn't want to meddle into his best friend’s love life but he just wanted to dare Jisoo. “I thought you’ll always root for them?”

“Yeah.” Jisoo says taking a bite of her part of the waffle, putting down the fork as soon as she took a bite. “But I want them to fix this shit on their own. I’m tired of helping them. They’re both my best friends but it’s hard to get in between.”

Jisoo then leans on the table, her chin resting on her palms. They were quiet for a moment, just watching at the raindrops on the glass wall.

“Don't you think rain is so fascinating?” Jisoo suddenly mumbles. “It’s wet, it’s muddy—it’s overall irritating. And if you’re unlucky, it can make you sick.”

Jinyoung turns to Jisoo but she’s still staring ahead.

“But I like it when it rains.” Jisoo continues with a childlike smile on her face. “I mean, when I’m indoors. It’s cold, and it makes you lazy like you just want to have a warm cup of coffee and curl up in bed. It’s somehow calming.”

“Don't you just love its complexity?” Jisoo asks as she turns with a smile that makes her eyes look as if they’re shining, making Jinyoung flustered so he looks away in an instant, coughing.

Jisoo looked away too, suddenly embarrassed and flustered.

Jinyoung coughed, reaching for the folder between them. “We were going to look into these dates, right?”

“Yeah,” Jisoo mumbles, reaching for her own copy of the file.

There was another moment of silence and for the first time, it was awkward. The kind of awkward that makes them sweat even on a cold afternoon.

Jisoo takes a deep breath, getting her shit together.

“How long are you going to be here?” Jisoo asks.

“Huh?” Jinyoung mumbles, looking up from the folder then turning to Jisoo.

Jisoo turns to him. “You said you can’t stay here for so long, right?”

“Oh, yeah.” Jinyoung says, looking back to the paper.

“I don't know.” He finally admitted. “I just know I can’t stay here for long.”

Jisoo had a moment to take that in. She’s slowly figuring it out right now that Jinyoung _has_ something—something about him, his past, about New York—that he can’t let go. She knows she is in no position to delve into it; they’re nothing but co-workers, after all. But there’s something driving her in and Jisoo knows, even this early, she can’t let herself loose.

 

 

Almost an hour later, Jinyoung and Jisoo came up with the initial list of their dates. As Jaebum said, two seasons are enough. They listed ten more dates from their McDonald’s and game night date for the first season. They thought it’ll be easier to schedule the first season then deal with the second with another pre-production meeting.

They chose the dates that go according to their will, the activities that they really wanted to try themselves. In the end, in no particular order or schedule yet, they came up with this list:

_  
_

_Karaoke_

_Extreme Sports_

_Gallery_

_Hiking_

_D-I-Y Dinner date_

_Vineyard_

_Bowling_

_Brunch_

_Movie Night_

_Fancy Dinner Date_

_Camping_

_  
_

“This is about it, right?” Jisoo asks looking at their list.

“Yeah.” Jinyoung agreed. “Jaebum would mess it up anyway.”

Jisoo chuckled, leaning back to her chair, as she takes a sip of her almost done iced latte.

Just as Jisoo finishes her drink and Jinyoung takes a photo of the list for his own reference, Jisoo’s phone started ringing.

She put down her drink to take her phone from her back pocket, answering it quickly.

“What’s up?” Jisoo answers.

“Hey,” It’s Rosé. “I’ve put up your Instagram account and I sent you the email address and password for it, have you seen it?”

“You did?” Jisoo asked. “I haven’t. Wait, let me check it.” She took her phone from her cheek and checked her home screen, discovering three unread messages, two of them from Rosé.

“Yeah, got it.” Jisoo takes the phone back to her cheek.

“Great, now go post you first photo.” Rosé ordered. “You’re still with Jinyoung, right? Bambam said you left with him.”

“Geez. I can’t even sneak out on a date without them knowing.” Jisoo mumbles as she turns to Jinyoung who raised his eyebrows in question. Jisoo replied with a shrug.

“Oh, really, Jisoo? You feel like dating for real now, huh?” Rosé teased.

Jisoo blushed, Jinyoung is still looking at her and she’s a bit embarrassed and worried he’s hearing Rosé.

“Shut up, Rosé.” Jisoo mumbles.

Rosé giggled in victory. “Can’t blame you if you’re blushing right now, Jinyoung is a whole cutie. Oh gosh, no. He’s a hottie. You’re lucky to have him as a boyfriend.”

Jisoo made a face, looking at Jinyoung which made him confused even more.

“Yeah and I can totally see you drooling right now.” Jisoo mumbles.

Rosé chuckled. “Okay, okay. I’ll stop. Just take that selca then tweet about your IG too.”

“Yeah, bye.” Jisoo said then hangs up after Rosé said her goodbye.

“Who’s that?” Jinyoung asked as soon as Jisoo put down her phone.

“Rosé.” Jisoo replied.

“Were you talking about me?” He asked.

“No.” She denied.

Jinyoung shot her another questioning look which she ignored.

“She just put up our—Jinji’s—Instagram account.” She explained. “And she asked me to promote it on my Twitter.”

Jisoo takes her phone again and open it’s camera.

“So are you ready for our first selca?” Jisoo asks.

“Is that needed?” Jinyoung asked.

“Unless you want the Jinji IG account to be filled with cat videos,” Jisoo chuckled. “Come on, it’s just a selca anyway. That’s how couples are supposed to be.”

Jisoo moved closer to Jinyoung and snapped a couple of photos.

She then leaned on the table to check the photos which didn’t come out well. They look so stiff, like they’re forced to do it—which they were by the way.

“Yeah, that doesn’t look like a couple.” Jinyoung says as he leans closer to check the photo from behind Jisoo.

Jisoo laughed. “Looks like we were threatened to do this.”

Jinyoung chuckled. “Let me.”

He then took Jisoo’s phone and pulled his chair closer to Jisoo. He took the phone with his left hand and put his right hand around Jisoo’s shoulder pulling her closer.

“Hey!”

Jinyoung took the photo as soon as Jisoo protested capturing his grin and Jisoo’s annoyed face.

“What?” Jinyoung grinned. “It’s just a selca, right? And this is how couples are supposed to be.”

“Hey, let’s be professional here, okay?” Jinyoung turned to Jisoo before pulling her back in. “Come on, smile like you’re in love with me.”

Jisoo sighed, putting her arm around Jinyoung’s shoulder.

“Smile like you’re in love with me.” Jisoo repeated as her free hand went straight to Jinyoung’s face, caressing his cheek, which successfully made him flustered.

Jinyoung tried hard not to flinch because of professionalism and took the image in an instant resulting to a very candid photo of them with wide smiles looking like they forgot what personal space looks like.

 

 

Jinyoung hates it whenever he gets home and the lights are on and television is on too but Jackson is nowhere inside. It’s just been a couple of weeks but Jinyoung has already grown a pet peeve. Jackson doesn't mind anyway. He got used to Jinyoung’s pettiness for having known him since they were in high school.

Apart from Jaebum, Jackson is probably Jinyoung’s closest friend. Well, he doesn't have that much friend to begin with so, it’s safe to say that Jaebum and Jackson are his best friends.

He met Jackson in high school, a transferee student from Hong Kong. They weren’t that close at first. Jinyoung thought Jackson is too talkative and is too much of social butterfly—the exact opposite of his introvert personality. But eventually, they naturally became close. Their differences became the strongest foundation of their friendship.

Unlike Jaebum who practically dragged Jinyoung out of his New York dump, Jackson is more on the gentle side. Instead of scolding him, Jackson offered pep talks—which didn't help because Jinyoung is stubborn. He flew to New York when he first heard what happened and offered Jinyoung all the help he could get.

But Jinyoung is pig headed and even the social butterfly Jackson failed to get through him. That’s when Jackson sought the help of Jaebum. And that’s when he started with his mission of dragging Jinyoung out of New York and now, Jinyoung is here in Jackson’s apartment, making himself distracted with a job from Jaebum.

Jinyoung would never admit it, but he has a lot to thank for his best friends.

That doesn't mean though that he cannot scold Jackson when he went home and found all the lights, the TV and even the AC on.

Jinyoung made sure to create a fuzz when he got home, slamming the door and throwing his keys in the wooden table and yet, despite the noise, Jackson is still nowhere in sight.

Jinyoung sighed. Jackson probably went out for a quick run or something. So he just went to his room to prepare for a shower.

When he got to the bathroom though, he was surprised to find the shower on. He thought it’s Jackson but the guy inside is singing some English song he’s sure Jackson will never sing. Someone is inside his apartment and is using his shower.

“ _Three in the morning… You know I’m hor—_ what the fuck?!”

The stranger exclaimed when Jinyoung didn't even hesitate and opened the showering curtain in a swift move.

“Who the fuck are you?” The guy asks covering himself, poorly, with his hands before grabbing the towel hanging beside him then wrapping it around his waist.

“Who the fuck are you and why are you using my shower?” Jinyoung fiercely asks.

“What?” The guy said as he shuts the shower off then steps out.

“Hey, hey, hey, what’s going on?” Jackson asks appearing by the door of their restroom. “Oh, so you’ve met?”

“Who the fuck is this boy, Jackson?” Jinyoung turned to Jackson.

“Boy?” The naked guy echoed. “Did you not just see _that_?”

Jinyoung gave him a judging look.

“What is this kid doing here, Jackson? And why is he using _my_ towel?” Jinyoung asked.

“It’s not your towel?” the guy asked Jackson.

“It’s not mine?” Jackson asked Jinyoung.

About an hour insulting each other and each other’s _kid_ , Jinyoung found out that the guy is Kim Yugyeom—he’s a YouTuber too like Jackson and he’s staying over with them for a while. Jinyoung protested—he didn't like the idea of sharing his apartment with someone he doesn't know—but their rent is no joke and there’s an extra room they could get some extra cash from. Also, he’s a kid that he can boss around so, how bad is that?

***

 

“There was this once,” Jisoo started as she sifts the flour. She and Jennie are over her place, making some cupcakes. “I tried making macarons and oh my gosh it was so bad—it’s as hard as a toast and it was so bitter! Lisa hated me for letting her eat that trash. I can never make macarons like yours.”

Jennie faked a frown. “You only miss the food I cook.”

Jisoo made a face. “Oh, yes, damn right I do.”

“Whoa. You didn’t even deny it!” Jennie chuckled.

“Well, at least I miss something tangible.” Jisoo mumbles.

Jennie paused from whisking the egg whites for frosting. “What do you mean?”

Jisoo sighed. “Jaebum. Can you believe he recognized your perfume?”

“You used my perfume?” Jennie asked, as if that’s the most important question right now.

Jisoo turns back to the flour. “Which I won’t do ever again because Jaebum freaks out.”

Jennie shakes her head and turns the hand mixer on again.

“Why can’t you just tell him you’re back? Or at least let me tell him.” Jisoo pleaded. “He’s going to find out anyway. Why do you have to make it a secret?”

Jennie sighed. “I don’t know. I don’t think he’s ready. I don’t think I’m ready.”

It’s Jisoo’s turn to sigh. “Can I at least tell Lisa or Rosé? You know it’s hard keeping a secret from those two.”

Jennie had a few stints as an actor at Post It and during her activities there, and partly because of her relationship with Jaebum, she has made friendships with the gang over there. She’s particularly close with Lisa and Rosé.

“Soon, Jisoo.” Jennie said. “I’m just looking for the right timing.”

“Whatever. But don’t blame me if I slip and tell someone about it.” Jisoo mumbles.

Jennie switches the hand mixer off. She knows Jisoo and she knows that what she just said means she actually told someone about it.

“Who knows I’m here?” Jennie asked.

“No one!” Jisoo denied.

“Jisoo,” Jennie said. “I know you and those threats. You definitely told someone.”

Jisoo is done with the flour now and has abandoned her post to act busy on the fridge.

“Jisoo,” Jennie repeated. “Please tell me you didn’t say anything to Jaebum.”

Jisoo groaned. “I didn’t tell him anything, okay? At least not to him.”

The last words came as a soft whisper from Jisoo’s mouth but Jennie heard it right and clear.

“Jisoo!” Jennie cried. “Who knows I’m here?”

“I... uh...” Jisoo trails off, not knowing if she should continue. “I kind of told Jinyoung about you.”

“What?” Jennie asked in disbelief. “Jinyoung your boyfriend? He’s Jaebum’s friend! This is betrayal!”

Jisoo turns to Jennie. “Okay, first of all, he is not really my boyfriend, so drop that please. Second, it was a slip of the tongue that he happened to hear. And third, betrayal? You ditched me the moment when you met Jaebum! That’s betrayal.”

“I can’t believe you haven’t moved on from that. That was ages ago!” Jennie said. “This one’s a fresh wound.”

“Well, I did move on from that. But it’s a handy argument at times like this.” Jisoo replied.

Jennie ignored her. “What if he tells Jaebum?”

“He’s not going to do that.” Jisoo confidently says.

“How are you sure about that? You trust him that much already?” Jennie asked.

“No.” Jisoo was quick to deny. “He just doesn’t seem to be the talkative type. And if he does, I’ll take full responsibility, okay?

Jennie groaned in defeat.

The next hour went by without them talking to each other except from simple words while baking the cupcakes. Jennie was sitting alone in the couch, waiting for the cupcakes to be done, when Jisoo approached her with a cup of hot cocoa.

“Sorry?” Jisoo mumbles handing the cup to Jennie.

Jennie sighed before smiling and taking the cup.

“Sorry for freaking out too. I just... I don’t really know how to deal with this yet.” Jennie admitted.

Jisoo slumps on the couch beside her. “You’re gonna figure it out soon. But I’m telling you, running away again is never an option.”

Jennie nods as she sips her drink.

“Wait,” Jisoo mumbles as she turns to Jennie. “Did you not tell me you’re here for two months because you’re scared I’ll tell Jaebum?”

Jennie was mummed.

“Oh, Jennie,” Jisoo frowned. “How can you even think that? You’re my best friend, I’ll choose you over that dummy in an instant.”

“And hey,” Jisoo mumbles. “Give Jaebum some credit. I believe you two just need to sort things out.”

“You know what,” Jennie stands from the couch then walks to the kitchen just as the oven tinged. “Let’s not talk about it now, please? I just want to have fun tonight.”

Jisoo sighed, it’s dead end for now. She walks back to the kitchen as Jennie takes out the tray of fresh vanilla cupcakes.

“Let’s talk about something else.” Jennie mumbles turning to the fridge to take two cans of beer.

“We’re drinking beer with cupcakes?” Jisoo asked. “How about my hot chocolate?”

“No. That’s for tomorrow.” Jennie replied. “I bought some chicken on my way here, it’s on the microwave.”

Jisoo’s eyes light up at the sound of food and immediately went to her microwave to get the box of chicken Jennie was talking about. “Forget about chocolate. It’s chicken and beer night.”

“So how are you and your boyfriend?” Jennie asked.

Jisoo rolled her eyes as soon as she gets back to her dining table, just before taking a piece of chicken.

“Can you at least let me enjoy this chicken?” Jisoo grunts.

Jennie shrugs then Jisoo took a piece of chicken and took a quick bite.

“Okay, so?” Jennie asked again.

Jisoo sighed. “For the nth time, he’s not my boyfriend, okay?”

“I know.” Jennie agrees, taking a chicken for herself. “But don't you find this weird? Acting like a couple and all that shit?”

“Well, it definitely is but at the end of the day, it’s just work.” Jisoo says.

“You don't even think he’s cute?” Jennie asked excitedly.

Jisoo made a face. “I don't know, he’s okay, I guess?”

“Okay?” Jennie echoed with judgment. “He is totally your type! You can’t lie to me, Jisoo.”

Jisoo furrows her eyebrows. “No, he’s not.”

“Whatever, you two look good on screen.” Jennie takes another bite of her chicken.

“We do?” Jisoo asks.

“Yeah, you fooled your best friend into thinking you’re actually together.” Jennie replied.

“Then we’re doing a good job.” Jisoo said happily.

“Fall in love for real—that’s the good job.”

Jisoo choked in her chicken. “No!”

“What? It’s not like it’s impossible. You’re going places—romantic places and you’re basically dating. It’s not impossible to fall in love.” Jennie said.

“Don’t put it that way.” Jisoo shakes her head. “You know what Jaebum told me when I asked him why he’s torturing me with this? He said it’s because there’s no risk of falling in love.”

“And besides,” Jisoo continued after taking another bite. “You know I don't date my co-workers.”

Jennie burst into laughter.

“What?” Jisoo is now annoyed.

“How is that a good argument? You basically worked with about four guys and of course you can’t date them because Bambam is just out of this world, Youngjae is a baby, Mark is out of your league and well,” Jennie slows down. “You just can’t date Jaebum.”

Jisoo rolled her eyes. “Well, include Jinyoung because he’s just…” Jisoo trails off, thinking of an excuse. “It’s not gonna happen, okay? And oh, Mark is not an option because _I am_ out of his league.”

Jennie replied with a teasing face eating her chicken.

“Anyway,” Jisoo mumbles. “Have you and Jaebum ever talked about him? I mean in the past, of course.”

Jennie looked at her in puzzle but answers anyway. “I don't remember, actually. He probably mentioned him but not to the point where we’ve talked about him. It’s not like Jaebum talks about his friends a lot. Why?”

“Nothing,” Jisoo leans back to her chair. “It’s just that he seems troubled about something.”

“Troubled?” Jennie echoed.

“Yeah.” Jisoo replied. “I think there’s something that he’s so protective with. I mean, it’s none of my business but I think there’s something he’s hiding.”

“Like what?” Jennie asks.

“A while ago, we were talking about using our Instagram accounts to post something about us, you know, just to shy away people from thinking we’re a fake couple. Well, anyway, he refused to open his account really sternly.” Jisoo explained.

“That’s weird. Do you think he has a girlfriend or something?” Jennie suggested.

Jisoo shakes her head. “I don't think so. Jaebum would know if he does.”

“Wait,” Jennie says. “So you haven’t seen his Instagram?”

Jisoo shakes her head again. “I don't think that’s important.”

“Then how are we going to stalk him?” Jennie asks in frustration.

“Well, I did look him up on Instagram, but he’s on private and I don't think he’s on Twitter.” Jisoo admitted.

Jenne smiled. “So you’re interested in him.”

“No,” Jisoo denied sternly. “I’m just curious.”

Jennie is just smiling at her as she takes her phone from her pocket. “Let me see. Park… Jinyoung…” she mumbles as she types his name on Instagram. “Right. He’s on private.”

Jisoo nods. “Told you.”

“Jaebum follows him.” Jennie mumbles.

“Of course he does.” Jisoo mumbles nonchalantly.

“I still know Jaebum’s password. You want to log in to his account and check Pepi’s Instagram?” Jennie offers, referring to Jinyoung’s username.

“You can?” Jisoo leans in the table. “Hold on, you know Jaebum’s password?”

“And email.” Jennie corrected with a smile. “So, you want to do it?”

Jisoo thinks about it for a moment. Does she want this? Does she really want to stalk Jinyoung and dig into his personal life? It’s pretty obvious that he is very private and concerned about his personal life. Despite having broken the ice between them, Jisoo has noticed that Jinyoung still has this wall around him.

“No, I don't think we should do that.” Jisoo finally decides.

Jennie looks disappointed, all the excitement in her is gone.

“I don't think it’s fair.” Jisoo continued. “I mean, if I really want to know what’s up, I can just request to follow him or something. I don't have to do it behind his back.”

“But—“

“Forget it, Jennie.” Jisoo cuts her off, wanting to just drop the topic. “Hey, you said, you want this night to be less stressful, right?” Jisoo says as she stands up from the dining table, taking the box of chicken to her living room. “So why don't we just have an Asia’s Next Top Model marathon instead of talking about guys?”

The sound of Jennie’s guilty pleasure show made her ran to the couch in an instant.

 

 

Jisoo and Jennie did spent the rest of the night binge watching Asia’s Next Top Model, not talking about a single guy—except when a hot model came in as a guest. It was as if Jisoo and Jennie were back to being the carefree college students they once were with no work and relationship to worry about.

About two and a half seasons later, Jennie has long fallen asleep on the couch—her back lying on the couch’s armrest and her legs stretched out on Jisoo’s lap—but Jisoo is still wide awake, making herself believe she’s simply scrolling through her Instagram when in reality, she has been thinking if she should request to follow Jinyoung or not.

It’s not a big deal. It shouldn't be. It’s _just_ Instagram and their co-workers, even sort of friends, following each other should be a big deal. But there’s something about how Jinyoung sounded so protective about it; how he always left some questions unanswered and the undeniable fact that he is definitely not telling something that makes Jisoo want to reach out.

It’s not even about being nosy or whatever. Jisoo just somehow feels she needs to get through Jinyoung and his walls. She can’t really point out why. Maybe she’s curious. Maybe because she loves riddles and Jinyoung’s life seems like a puzzle to solve.

Or maybe she just wants to. Maybe Jennie is right. Maybe she’s interested in him and she’d like to know things about him.

Jisoo still can’t make up her mind. She’s back in Jinyoung’s profile, staring at that blue follow button, wanting to go click it but the lock icon is somehow stopping her.

And as if she can read Jisoo’s mind, Jennie suddenly made an involuntarily movement, lightly kicking Jisoo with her right foot. The exact same foot hit Jisoo’s elbow, very slightly but enough to make her click that follow button.

“Shit!” Jisoo exclaimed softly, as to not wake Jennie up.

Jisoo stared at her phone with eyes wide open, just letting that blue button turned into gray sink in.

 

***

 

There are no reports of any tropical storm but the rain showers have been going on for days now. It’s Saturday and even though the best thing to do in this cold day is to stay in bed and sleep all day, the Jinji crew have scheduled filming today.

The second episode, which they uploaded yesterday, has about two hundred thousands views and it somehow made Jaebum excited. He moved their supposed Tuesday filming for the third episode to a Saturday, saying that Karaoke bars are more fun on weekends.

Jisoo and Jinyoung eventually agreed anyway since this Karaoke episode will also be their little way of celebrating the series.

They were actually all excited, except no one actually remembered about the weather. Now, the sky is gloomy and they have no chances of filming an outdoor scene, even just for the opening spiel.

And to make the matters worse, Jisoo is at the bus stop shed, waiting for the rain to at least weaken—which was looking impossible because she’s been waiting for about thirty minutes now. Her clothes are all soaked because she ran from Jennie’s place hoping to get a cab, but she has no luck.

She’s about ten minutes late to the shoot and she’s been trying to call Jaebum but he’s not answering. Not even Lisa or Bambam—who will be helping them in today’s filming as the Line Producer and Audio/Camera person respectively—is in reach.

Jisoo is ready to run to the Karaoke place, thinking that maybe if she’s drenched in rain Jaebum will not scold her for being late. She wraps her arms around herself and rubs her palms in her arms. She’s actually ready for the rain if it’s not this cold.

“Jisoo?”

She immediately turned around when she heard someone call her and when she found Jinyoung nicely dressed—ready for filming—she can’t decided whether to be thankful or embarrassed.

“Jinyoung,” Jisoo mumbles as a greeting.

“What happened to you?” Jinyoung asked in worry, as he steps inside the shed and closes his umbrella.

“The rain hates me, I guess?” Jisoo replied with a shivery chuckle. “I was on my way to the Karaoke place when it suddenly rained.”

“Didn't you have a car?” Jinyoung asked.

“Yeah, but I don't like driving when it rains.” Jisoo replied. “So I just walk around.”

“And yet, you didn't bring an umbrella.” Jinyoung pointed out.

Jisoo made a face, feeling judged. “I did bring an umbrella. But I left it over at my friend’s place. How are you going to the Karaoke place anyway?”

Jinyoung looked puzzled. “I’m going to take the bus.”

Jisoo gave him a look of disbelief. “You can’t take the bus. It doesn't stop in the area. You’ll have to walk.”

“But that’s four blocks away.” Jinyoung said.

“You’ll have to walk.” Jisoo repeated. “Or at least get a cab except cabs are extinct in this area.”

Jisoo groaned looking at her watch. “Jaebum is so gonna hate us, we’re almost fifteen minutes late.”

“It’s raining. What does he wants us to do? Get soaked in the rain?” Jinyoung replied.

“Are you not afraid of his chin?” Jisoo asked in horror. “And it’s just about him getting angry. Time is indeed gold in production, you know. We rented the place per hour, so getting late, even just for a couple of minutes, matter. That’s why we risk getting soaked in the rain.”

Jinyoung coughed, realizing Jisoo is very much drenching from the rain and is looking cold.

“Here,” Jinyoung mumbles taking off his coat then handing it to Jisoo.

Jisoo just stared at the coat as if not knowing what to do with it.

“Take it. You’re shivering and…” Jinyoung trails off as he looks away. “Your shirt is not really that thick.”

Jisoo blushed, taking the coat immediately. She put it on, making sure she’s covering all the right parts of her torso.

“Thanks.” Jisoo mumbles.

Jinyoung cleared his throat.

“So, we get wet in the rain, huh?”

“Huh?” Jisoo mumbles.

“Let’s go run to the Karaoke place before Jaebum’s chin gets us.” Jinyoung chuckled before opening his umbrella and stepping out of the shed. “My umbrella’s a bit small but I think we’ll fit in.”

Jisoo watches him as he looks up at the dark, gloomy sky. There might be stuff that Jinyoung is not comfortable in sharing but he’s not entirely a mystery. He must have high walls around him but he can still be a warm and inviting.

 

 

“Going to Karaoke is a nice couple activity. I think that more than just a date, Karaoke is fun to get comfortable with each other,” Jisoo speaks to the camera then turns to Jinyoung. “Right?”

Jinyoung smiled. He’s holding a camera with one arm while Jisoo casually leans on his shoulder.

“Yeah.” Jinyoung nods. “And it’s not only good for a couple but, ideally, it’s a great for having friends over! Aside from being close as a couple, you can also get closer to each other’s friends.”

“That’s right!” Jisoo agreed. “That’s why we invited our friends over tonight.”

On cue, the rest of the crew—Mark, Youngjae, Rosé and even Jackson—appeared behind the two doing some random stuff and noises. Youngjae has already picked their first song.

“It’s going to be a loud and crazy night.” Jinyoung said laughing. “Stay with us!”

Jinyoung then moves around to film them going crazy. Jisoo nonchalantly dances to the beat of the trot song that Youngjae is singing while still remaining to be attached to Jinyoung even though everyone else behind them are moving like crazy.

From the corner, Jaebum is watching them film themselves in self-camera. He has two other camera setups for more shots and footages. He is really impressed with his two friends. If he wasn't the mastermind of all these, he’ll think that those two are a real couple.

Jaebum let them act wild for a moment, keeping lots of behind the scene material before clapping his hands together.

“Cut!” he screamed softly.

Except from Jinyoung and Jisoo who immediately detached themselves from each other, all the others remain unbothered.

Youngjae is still singing. Bambam and Lisa, who were supposed to be helping Jaebum behind the cam, already joined the bunch in singing. Bambam, Mark and Jackson—who just met today—have already grown close in the past hour and are jamming to Youngjae’s singing. Lisa and Rosé are dancing together like crazy as they sing along with Youngjae.

Jaebum shakes his head as he approach Jinyoung and Jisoo.

“You want to review it?” Jinyoung asks, motioning the camera to Jaebum.

Jaebum takes the camera. “Nah. I’ll do that later. Anyway, I’m leaving the other cameras on to capture everything else. And oh, you have your phone with you, right?”

Jinyoung nodded. “Of course.”

“Great. Take footages using your phone too. We need some footage of you having fun so don’t finish the act just yet.” Jaebum instructed. “And, Jinyoung, film horizontally. Please.”

Jinyoung pouted. “I know that.”

Jisoo chuckled. “Yeah, ‘cause the last time you did, it was all vertical video and we cannot use any of those in the final cut.”

“Hey,” Jinyoung turned to Jisoo. “You saw me struggling and you didn't even correct me? I thought we’re friends.”

Jisoo made a teasing face and Jinyoung pouts once again.

“Okay, I need that bantering in front of the camera, not in front of me. Now, go over there and have with your date.” Jaebum grunted shooing the two away.

With drinks and music, the night went as expected—wild and loud. They sang Big Bang, Girls Generation, and Michael Jackson, even Pororo. Bambam and Youngjae sang Big Bang’s Loser. Youngjae, Jackson, Lisa and Jisoo did a Gee stage, knowing every step carefully—even though Youngjae said he’s not familiar with the songs. Rosé and Jackson did a Michael Jackson showdown with Billie Jean. It was messy but indeed fun. Just by watching, Jaebum is already thinking of extending the show from ten-minute to a whole twenty-minute material.

“Time check,” Lisa mumbles, remembering her role as the series Line Producer. “Fifteen minutes before pack up. Go sing your last song for tonight.”

“Has everyone sung already?” Rosé asked, looking around. “Oh, wait, Jinyoung hasn't!”

“Hold on,” Bambam says standing up from the couch. “Did we even get a footage of you and Jisoo singing together?”

Surprisingly, even though they’re half drunk, they actually remembered what they’re really here for.

“Don’t you think we should shoot them singing? They are couple after all.” Bambam asked Jaebum.

“Yeah, that’s good material.” Jaebum agrees. “Go for it, Jinyoung.”

Jinyoung looks hesitant. “I don't sing.”

“Do you think I do? But I still sang.” Bambam replied strongly.

“Oh, come on,” Jisoo stands from the couch and walks to Jinyoung, bringing the karaoke controller with her. It’s probably the alcohol that made Jisoo pull Jinyoung up, surprising him a lot when she took his hand a bit too tightly.

“It’s just a song.” Jisoo convinced Jinyoung. They’re now both standing in the center. “What song do you like? Do you want a pop song? Hip-hop? Ballad?”

Jisoo is just spitting suggestions as she presses random numbers on the controller while Jinyoung watches her in worry.

Jisoo is still holding Jinyoung—their hands are still clasped together but neither of them cares. They somehow got used to the skinships in front of the camera—that or they’re just both less sober than usual.

“Oh, this one!” Jisoo exclaimed when she stumbled on a song. “I like this! Have you seen the movie? It was so good.”

Jinyoung turned to the screen just as the song started with a piano instrumental. It’s _Falling Slowly_ from the movie _Once._

“Oh my gosh, this is such a romantic song.” Rosé mumbles from behind them.

“You know this, right?” Jisoo asks, basically shoving the microphone into Jinyoung’s throat.

Jinyoung hesitated for a while before taking the mic. He may have missed a few lines but he still sang.

_Words fall through me_

_And always fool me_

_And I can’t react_

Jisoo rolled her eyes with a smirk. _Liar._ She mouthed, making Jinyoung chuckle a bit.

Jinyoung was definitely lying when he said he doesn't sing, Jisoo thought to herself. His voice is like honey—it’s sweet and it’s decadent, as if that makes sense. It’s so weirdly soothing that the words coming out from his lips are like blankets embracing her.

_Falling slowly, eyes that know me_

_And I can’t go back_

_Moods that take me and erase me_

_And I’m painted black_

Jisoo knows she is supposed to sing along but she somehow can’t. She’d like to believe it’s because she’s too drunk but that’s not possible when she barely had three bottles of beer. She might be a little bit tipsy and excited but she knows when she’s drunk and she knows she isn’t right now.

Because truth is, she got lost in the sweet melody of the song; in it’s heartwarming message; and its beauty as Jinyoung sings it.

_Take this sinking boat and point it home_

_We’ve still got time_

_Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice_

_You’ll make it now_

Then, all of a sudden, Jisoo felt a hundred percent sober. It’s like something shot her to be in her perfect consciousness. All of a sudden, she knows everyone is watching her and Jinyoung with dreamy eyes. She’s suddenly aware that her hand is practically glued with Jinyoung’s and she felt embarrassed about it.

She’s not at all tipsy anymore but she is excited. No, it’s a different kind of excitement.

Fear gush into Jisoo when she slowly realize that stomping feeling in her chest.

And as Jinyoung continues to sing, his velvety voice and the warmth of his hand makes Jisoo’s heart beat.

_Falling slowly sing your melody_

_I’ll sing along_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, chapter 3 is here! Sorry to keep you guys waiting :((( i promise to (try lol) update regularly and faster from now on jsjsjsjjss
> 
> Anyway, idk what to feel about this chapter (as usual) this is sort of just something to close future plot holes lol but i hope it sill makes sense. As usual, I'd love to hear what you think about this so drop some comments if you can hehe
> 
> Thank you! <3
> 
> PS. Don't run with strangers under the rain. Yes, it does sound romantic (especially if the stranger looks as good as Im Jaebum) but it's dangerous. Very dangerous.
> 
> PPS. Jinyoung did sing Falling Slowly irl. Watch [ here ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuBOhinEEQQ)


	4. Angel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: mentions of drug overdose and implied suicide

The night is dark and cold. The moon is barely lighting up the sky and the emptiness of the streets makes it feel even colder.

Jinyoung is walking alone, calmly, in the unfamiliar road. He didn't know where his destination is but he keeps on walking, with much determination.

He continued walking, he didn't care about the darkness.

But it got even darker. The moon, which is barely lighting up the sky, got clouded. Jinyoung couldn't see what’s in front of him. But he didn't stop walking. He continued to walk even though it’s difficult in the dark.He wrapped his arms around himself with the hopes of making himself warm. But it’s no use. It doesn't change the fact that he’s cold and alone.

The wind gushed around him making him shiver. Instead of swiftly gushing by, it was as if the wind swirled around him and just stayed around him, embracing him.

He tried his best to walk straight but it’s impossible with his knees getting tired and weak from the coldness.

He struggled until he trips on the ground. Then, all of a sudden, there’s pain. Suddenly, he’s afraid. He’s scared of the darkness; he’s scared of the coldness—he’s terrified of being alone.

He stayed there on the ground not knowing how to stand. Embracing himself with pity and misery.

Until he felt two arms slowly wrapping around him, enveloping him with warmth.

Jinyoung looks up and found himself in an embrace of an angel. The angel smiled at him and her smile made Jinyoung feel like he can do anything. He is more motivated than he ever was. He was inspired.

The angel helped him to get up, guiding him carefully.

When Jinyoung got back to his senses and has regained his strength, he continued walking. This time, he’s together with the angel, holding his hand firmly with every step.

The angel became his light in the dark path. It’s like she’s glowing among the darkness. With the light she’s giving, the path ahead became clear. He can see it perfectly. He knows where he is going. The angel’s touch is making him warm. It’s as if the long cold night has ended and the sun is finally shining, making him warm and lighting up the darkness.

And most importantly, Jinyoung is not alone anymore. He has the angel beside him, holding his hand.

They walked together side by side, taking one step at a time.

After a really long time, Jinyoung felt light, contented. After a really long time, Jinyoung felt happy.

They’re no longer alone too. As they walk, they meet people sharing smiles and laughter with them—people keeping them company. But even with more company, Jinyoung held the angel’s hand tighter. In fact, they grew closer and closer as their world gets bigger and bigger. Jinyoung holds her closer not wanting to let go. Scared that when he lets go, the angel will leave him and the darkness and coldness will come back again.

But the angel never let him go. It was as if she can read what’s on Jinyoung’s mind. She acknowledges his fear and she understands so she kept him close too. She pulled him closer, gently, as to make him feel she’ll always be beside him. And that, just like him, she doesn't want to let go.

Eventually, Jinyoung realized that the path their taking isn’t flat. Instead, it’s uphill. The road they’re taking is gradually taking a pedestal. As they climb the higher path, Jinyoung gets the better view of the world—of it’s blinding beauty.

As they continue to walk, they meet more people—big, influential people. These people showers Jinyoung with praises, acknowledgements and good words. Their words made Jinyoung feel good—ecstatic.

What Jinyoung didn't realize, was that as they take the higher road, the paths gets narrower and, with more people joining them with each step, the road couldn't fit all these people and the angel.

To continue walking, he has to let go of something. He has to let go of the angel.

He didn't want to. It’s the angel who has guided him all this time. It is the angel who brought him here in the first place. But it’s too much for the angel. She’s weak. Her steps have gone weak and slow.

It’s a choice that Jinyoung didn't want to make. He can’t choose between the people that love him and the angel that he loves.

So, he held on to the angel’s hand tight—so tight that it almost hurt her. She was crying, hurting but Jinyoung didn't listen. He continued walking, swimming through the mad crowd. He got even hungrier to get to the top.

And with that hunger comes a costly price.

The angel lets go of him. He let go of the angel. He doesn't know anymore.

All that he can remember is her voice calling him as she vanishes.

_Jinyoung. Jinyoung._

It was soft at first, as if just watching him.

But it turned into a cry. A loud cry that’s deafening as she falls.

_Jinyoung! Jinyoung!_

Then, in an instant, the darkness came again. The sun drastically sets and the night falls just like when he started but this time, there’s not even a moon in the sky. It’s cold, it’s chilling. The cold breeze is enveloping him again, making him weak on his knees.

_Jinyoung! Jinyoung!_

He can still hear her voice but he can’t see him. It’s too dark and the coldness is making him weak he can’t even stand up.

_Jinyoung!_

Her every cry sends daggers to his heart. The sound of her voice calling his name is pounding in his chest, shooting pain right through her heart. It’s piercing. The pain is making it difficult for him to breathe.

_Jinyoung!_

_Jinyoung!_

“Jinyoung! Park Jinyoung!”

Then he wakes up.

He opens his eyes, the dark car is still somehow blinding compared to the darkness in his dream.

He turned and found Jisoo sitting beside him, looking worried, her hand resting on his shoulder and she is still lightly shaking him.

“Hey, you’re finally awake.” Jisoo asked, when she realized that Jinyoung, finally, has his eyes open. “You look pale.” She reached over his forehead. “And cold. Are you okay? Are you feeling sick?”

Jinyoung quickly turned away. “Y-yeah. I’m fine.” He stuttered as he scoots away, his voice hoarse from sleep.

“Are you sure?” Jisoo asked.

“Yeah.” Jinyoung turned to the window. “Where are we?”

“You okay, man?” Jaebum asks from the driver’s seat, looking through the rearview mirror. “We’re on our way back to the office.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Jinyoung straightened his back. “I’m fine.”

They just finished filming their fourth episode at the Bowling Center. Jaebum is driving them tonight and they just dropped off Lisa and Youngjae (the episode’s audio guy) to their places and decided to go back to the office to drop Jisoo since she has to pull an all-nighter for Jinji’s third episode.

The rest of the trip was quiet, just the soft sound from the radio playing some RnB song. None of them bothered talking, partly because they’re tired from filming but mostly because Jisoo and Jaebum are a bit worried about Jinyoung.

Jinyoung immediately fell asleep right after they packed up, even Youngjae’s loud voice didn't make him flinch. Then, for about ten minutes, he was whining and shivering—he was definitely having a bad dream. That’s when Jisoo decided to wake him up.

A couple of minutes later, they arrived at the HQ’s building to drop Jisoo.

“Okay,” Jisoo mumbles as she gathers her things. “See you tomorrow. Drive safe—“

“Wait,” Jinyoung stopping her from opening the door. “You’re still working?”

“Yeah.” Jisoo replied. “I have some editing to do for Jinji.”

“I’ll come with you.” Jinyoung says, taking of his seatbelt.

“What? Why?” Jisoo asked.

“I don't feel like sleeping yet.” Jinyoung replied.

Jisoo gave him a puzzled look before shooting Jaebum the same look through the rearview mirror. He has the same confused look but he just shrugged. Sometimes, he just doesn't know what’s going on with his best friend’s head.

Jisoo turns back to Jinyoung who’s somehow waiting for her approval.

“Okay.” Jisoo finally gives in.

They went inside the building in silence. From the elevator ride, until they get inside, up until Jisoo has started working, none of them decided to speak a word.

It’s about ten in the evening, everyone else has left the HQ—it’s just the two of them and Jisoo is starting to feel uncomfortable.

Silence doesn't really bother her. She has also learned, for the weeks that they have worked together, that Jinyoung isn’t the type to talk much and she’s actually getting used to it. She doesn't really like it anyway when someone talks to her when she’s working.

But _this_ silence is killing her. The mere fact that Jinyoung is beside her, doing nothing, just reading through Jaebum’s random stuff, is driving her nuts. Him being so comfortable while she suffers in silence is starting to annoy her and she can’t figure out why.

Jinyoung is just there, minding his own business and, yet, it feels so unsettling for her. She’s nervous and she can’t focus on what she’s doing. He’s not doing anything but this is making Jisoo feel worse than when they were at the bowling center earlier being playful and flirty—in her defense, it’s work and they’re just going by Jaebum’s instructions.

Jisoo doesn't know why she’s feeling this way but she’s certain it all started on that drunk night at the Karaoke place when her heart suddenly started racing so fast when Jinyoung sang. Was she flustered? Did Jinyoung actually make her heart flutter?

Bullshit. Of course not. How can that happen? It’s just Jinyoung and it was work they were doing. She’ll be a fool if she’ll let that simple song to make her feel _things_ —whatever that should be.

And, not that it matters, but the fact that Jinyoung hasn't even accepted her request on Instagram is making Jisoo feel a little bit weird. Was he avoiding her? Is there really something on his Instagram that he’s hiding? Why would he hide anything from her? They’re not even that close!

“Jisoo,”

She almost fell in her seat when Jinyoung suddenly called her.

“Huh?” she turned from her computer screen—who she has been staring at for the past fifteen minutes, not doing anything—to Jinyoung who’s peeking from Jaebum’s station.

“Uhm, can I make coffee?” Jinyoung asked, pointing at the pantry. He has been in the HQ for a couple times now that he has gone comfortable in it too.

“Yeah, sure. Make yourself at home.” Jisoo replied.

Jinyoung nods. “Do you want some too?”

“Uh,” Jisoo mumbles, totally out of focus. “Yeah, sure. Thanks.”

Jinyoung then went to the pantry and Jisoo turns back to her computer. She gave herself a few gentle slaps on her cheeks, trying to regain her focus. She took a few deep breaths and went back to work.

She’s in the middle of editing Jinji’s episode three, the Karaoke date they filmed about three days ago. It was actually fun, they have their other friends with them so it seems a bit more natural.

Jisoo is reviewing the footages, looking for something more to add to the opening montage.

“He’s really good.”

Jisoo is watching Youngjae sing a Bruno Mars song when, again, she felt like her soul just left her body in shock when Jinyoung appeared behind her.

“Can you make a sound and not scare the shit out of me?” Jisoo said.

Jinyoung chuckled, handing Jisoo the cup of coffee he made. “I made a sound, you’re just jumpy.”

Jisoo rolled her eyes as she takes the coffee.

Jinyoung, instead of going back to Jaebum’s station, stayed on Jisoo’s station and leaned on the free space in her table.

Jisoo turned back to her screen after taking a sip of the coffee, which was surprisingly good, wanting to just focus in her work. But with Jinyoung watching her on the side, focusing to work is close to impossible.

“What do you want?” Jisoo asked.

“What?” Jinyoung’s eyes widen in surprise. He is not at all expecting to be called out from watching. “I’m just watching.”

“You’re not helping either.” Jisoo said.

Jinyoung looks so offended. “I _can_ help.”

Jisoo looks at him in complete doubt.

Jinyoung replied with a smirk, leaning off the table and putting his coffee behind him.

“Will you excuse me?” He asked politely.

“No!” Jisoo protested, shielding her computer with her body. “You might mess up stuff!”

“Hey, don't underestimate me. I taught Jaebum how to edit videos.” Jinyoung said.

Jisoo didn't move an inch.

“Come on,” Jinyoung’s voice softens, sounding sincere. “You look tired and out of focus. You’ll need the help I’ll give.”

Jisoo thought about for a while. Jinyoung is right, she is very much out of focus and he’s basically distracting her already anyway, so why not just let him distract her even more?

She sighed as she stands up from her chair, reminding herself that she has saved her current edit so whatever happens, she has a backup.

Jinyoung shakes his head smiling as he takes the seat. Jisoo went on and sat on top of her table, just where Jinyoung was leaning a while ago.

“What were you doing?” Jinyoung asked, getting familiar with Jisoo’s Premier timeline.

“Montage for the opening.” Jisoo answered nonchalantly.

Jinyoung didn't say anything anymore and focused on the screen.

During the next few minutes, Jisoo has her mouth hanging open because Jinyoung does know his way to Premier Pro. Not only does he knows how to edit, but he has the skill and art for it too. He even knows stuff Jisoo doesn't know.

“You can close your mouth, you know.” Jinyoung mumbles, seeing Jisoo’s reflection on the dark screen.

“You’re good!” Jisoo exclaimed in utter surprise making Jinyoung chuckle, his free hand going straight to cover his mouth in embarrassment.

“Jaebum and I used to make short films before I went to New York.” Jinyoung said.

“Oh, JJ Project!” Jisoo exclaimed, suddenly remembering the credits of one of the short films that Jaebum has showed her before. “You’re the other J in JJ Project! Jinyoung and Jaebum Project.”

“I told Jaebum it should be JJ Productions because that’s how production companies are but his dumb ass told me it’s project.” Jinyoung explained, blushing from embarrassment.

“You should never believe him.” Jisoo mumbles. “So, wait, you’re into video making too?”

Jinyoung smiled softly, eyes still focused on his edit. “I’m actually more into photography. Jaebum’s the one who’s good with directing.”

“Really?” Jisoo’s voice went an octave higher in excitement. “I’ve always loved people who are into photography.”

“It's just so different from videos, you know?” Jisoo continues. “With videos, you have the benefit of scripts, dialogues, music—you basically have more time to tell a story. But with photography, it’s just a snap and yet, you’ve captured everything you needed. There’s a story in it.”

Jinyoung’s smile turned wide. It’s heartwarming for him to hear someone admire his art.

“What are your usual subjects?” Jisoo asked, moving closer to Jinyoung. “Are you into people, portraits? Or events, moments?”

Jinyoung’s smile turns soft, almost a frown. “Angel.”

It was basically a whisper, Jinyoung wasn't sure if he wanted Jisoo to hear it but the girl’s hearing is sharp.

“Angels?” Jisoo echoed. “You mean the statues? Or the real thing?”

“Hey, how do you think about this?” Jinyoung asked instead of answering, referring to the montage he’s editing. He moved the chair back a bit to make way for Jisoo.

“Let’s see.” Jisoo says, Jinyoung successfully diverting her attention.

“That’s great!” Jisoo says after viewing it twice. “Hold on, excuse me.” She says leaning in closer, taking control of the mouse and the keyboard.

Jinyoung couldn't help but move back a little bit farther when he felt Jisoo’s scent as she leans closer.

She went to a folder and added music to Jinyoung’s edit. A couple of adjustments and cuts later, she moves back, previewing their new collaboration.

“Better.” Jinyoung says.

“Nah. It's mostly yours. I just felt it needed a bit more life.” Jisoo said, leaning back to her table.

“Didn't know I can still do it.” Jinyoung mumbles.

“Is that why you wanted to come with me? To check your skills?” Jisoo asks, half teasing.

Jinyoung chuckled. “Well, that and…” he trails off, moving back to the screen. “I have trouble sleeping.”

Jisoo got worried a bit, suddenly remembering what happened to him back in the car a while ago.

“Insomnia?” She asked.

Jinyoung shakes his head. “Bad dreams.”

“Were you having a bad dream in the car a while ago?” Jisoo asked.

Jinyoung nodded.

“What are they about?” Jisoo dared to ask.

It took Jinyoung a moment to answer. He’s just staring at the screen now; focus long gone.

“An angel.” He finally answered. “An angel I disappointed and left behind.”

They were quiet the following moments. It’s the silence they both need right now. Jinyoung is still hesitant, somehow scared, to fully show what’s inside his head; inside his heart.

“You know what they say about our dreams?” Jisoo breaks the silence.

“That they’re not real?” Jinyoung bluntly replies with a chuckle, obviously trying to lighten the mood but his chuckle sounded more like a scoff.

“No.” Jisoo lightly disagrees, shaking her head before continuing. “They say that what we remember when we wake up is, at most, just half of our dream. What we remember could be different from what it actually was. It could be the exact opposite.”

Jinyoung turns to Jisoo, giving her his full attention.

Jisoo smiles at him. “Meaning, a bad dream isn’t always a bad dream. Sometimes, there’s beauty just hiding in it.”

 

 

It was already dawn when Jinyoung got home. He and Jisoo spent the whole night finishing the third episode’s offline edit and talking about random things. Jisoo, apparently, is good at that—talking and making others feel better. He did feel a lot better after that night but as he’s lying down on his bed, just staring at the ceiling, Jinyoung is still having trouble getting into slumber. It’s not the bad dreams that are keeping him up though. It’s that notification he got on Instagram a few days ago and the fact that Jisoo is becoming more than just a distraction.

 

***

 

Even after staying in New York for a really long time, Jinyoung hasn’t really had someone he was comfortable enough to share his feelings with. Which wasn’t so surprising at all because he has always put up a facade around his true feelings even with Jaebum or Jackson, who he has known for the longest time and he considers as his best friends.

Jinyoung has never been good in opening up to someone. In fact, he never wanted to open up with anyone. There’s no traumatic experience or a bad memory behind it, that’s just how he has always been. He thinks that opening up to someone and telling others about how he truly feels will make him vulnerable. That once he has his feelings out, everyone will think wrongly about him and people can use his feelings against him.

Just like with his feelings, sharing his dreams will make him vulnerable.

He’s been having the dreams for almost a year now and it’s getting worse. He used to have the dreams just at night, when it’s cold and dark. But lately, the dreams occur every time he closes his eyes—even in broad daylight.

He never wanted to share his dreams to someone; to anyone. And yet, last night, he just felt like he needed to tell Jisoo about it.

There is something about Jisoo. It’s like there’s this aura around her that just drives Jinyoung in. An aura that tells him it’s okay to be vulnerable with her.

Eventually, Jinyoung realized that it’s her charm—making people feel better with her words. Her words aren’t shallow, her words are like the things you really needed to hear. And it’s not just her words. It’s also the silence she offers.

He thought opening up about his dreams will make him weak but after telling Jisoo about it, Jinyoung somehow felt light—like something was lifted off his chest.

And he doesn’t want that.

Jinyoung believes he’s meant to have those dreams. He’s meant to suffer having them. He is meant to feel the pain.

That’s what he deserves for leaving _her_ behind. For letting _her_ go.

The loud sound of his phone ringing pulled Jinyoung from his thoughts. It’s Thursday night; Jinyoung is supposed to meet Jaebum and Jackson for dinner but he’s still on his bed, daydreaming.

He rolled to the other side of his bed to get his phone from his bedside table, immediately taking the call without checking the caller ID since he’s sure it’s Jackson.

“Hey, man, where are you? I’m on my way to the pub. You know where the place is, right?” Jackson said as soon as Jinyoung answered the call. “Hey, please don't tell me you’re still on bed.”

“I’m not. I’m on the door now.” Jinyoung answered just before he turns the knob of his door. “I’ll see you there.”

Jinyoung didn't even wait for Jackson’s answer, he just hang up and stuffed his phone to his back pocket.

He then went straight to the door, grabbing his coat along the way then quickly putting on his shoes just before he exits their apartment.

He’s not really familiar with the place they’re meeting. He just knows that it’s a place Jaebum and Jackson frequents but he doesn't know where it is. Jackson just sent him the address and he didn't want to bother anyone to pick him up or anything so he’s just finding it on his own.

His Google Maps says it’s about a fifty-minute walk, with a couple of underpasses to enter, from their apartment. Jinyoung could have gotten a cab or used the car his sister left for him to use but he doesn't want to. He preferred walking. He prefers inhaling the breeze of wind—as if it’s not polluted—instead of staying in a stuffy car.

Jinyoung was just walking for a couple of minutes when he passed by a secondhand shop that caught his attention. He stopped his tracks and went inside, not minding that his friends are waiting for him in a pub about thirty-minutes away.

 

 

“You bought a bike?” Jackson asks in surprise as soon as Jinyoung arrives at the pub.

He and Jaebum watched Jinyoung from the pub’s glass walls as the latter gets off a bike when he arrived an hour late.

“What do you plan to do with your sister’s car?” Jackson asked in worry, as if buying a bike when you technically have a car is a dumb idea.

Jinyoung shrugged. “You wanna use it?”

Jackson’s mouth went hanging open in disbelief as he turns to Jaebum and gives him a what-the-hell-he’s-thinking look but the older guy just shakes his head with a smug smile, pretty much used to his best friend’s random ways.

Jackson sighed. “Okay, there’s no taking back okay? I’m going to use your car and tell Sooyoung you told me to. I don't want her to think that I’m taking your stuff away.”

“The other night, at the car,” Jaebum started, putting down his mug of beer after taking a gulp. “You’re still having the dreams?”

Jackson turned to Jinyoung in worry. He hasn't brought it up to Jinyoung, knowing he won’t talk about it anyway, but he’s hearing him at night groaning because of his dreams.

Jinyoung looks away. He didn't want to share his dreams to anyone but Jaebum and Jackson found out about it a few months ago. The two visited him in New York. They were staying over at his apartment when he had one of his worst dreams. They all fell asleep on Jinyoung’s living room after a long night of drinking when Jaebum and Jackson suddenly woke up from their after hearing Jinyoung’s screams.

It scared the shit out of them but they didn't talk about in the next morning. They never talked about it ever, until now.

“It’s getting worse.” Jinyoung admitted. No matter how hard he tries to keep it to himself, he just can’t keep it from the two people who can understand him right now.

“I think you should go see a doctor.” Jackson suggests.

Jinyoung just made a face in response.

“Are you having the same dreams?” Jaebum asks.

Jinyoung nods. “Sometimes, it’s like a movie. Very vivid, very clear. But there are times it’s blurry. It’s just her calling my name, screaming, crying.”

“It’s been a year. You can’t torment yourself for the rest of your life just because she’s gone. She would want you to be happy too.” Jaebum says seriously.

“She wouldn't want to see you in pain.” Jackson agrees with Jaebum. “Do you think she’s happy seeing you like that right now?”

Jinyoung’s reply came in him reaching for his almost-full beer mug then aggressively drinking it all in one chug. He puts down the mug on the table hardly, the glass hitting the wooden the table made a loud sound.

“You have to let yourself free, Jinyoung.” Jaebum says.

 

***

 

“Are you okay?” Jaebum asks, pulling Jisoo from her thoughts.

Jisoo turned to Jaebum. “Is Jinyoung okay?”

It has been bothering Jisoo for days now. She thought her hearting beating too fast in her chest whenever Jinyoung is around is already worst but knowing that there’s something that is bothering him; something that is keeping him to be happy is much worse and it’s driving Jisoo crazy.

Why does she even let this bother her? It’s just Jinyoung. She barely knows the guy. For all she know, it could be his conscience over doing a crime that is keeping him at night, why does she even care?

Jaebum looked puzzled.

“I mean, the other night…” Jisoo trails off, not knowing whether she should pretend she doesn't know anything or not.

“At the car.” She chose the former. “He seems so troubled.”

Jaebum took a moment to think before answering.

Jisoo sighed. “Whatever. You don't have to answer. Even though it’s obvious there’s something you guys are hiding, I know it’s none of my business.”

Jaebum looked at her, examining her, before bursting into laughter.

“You’re worried about Jinyoung? Oh, is this a start of a crush?” Jaebum teased.

Jisoo face turned pale for a while before her ears started getting red.

“Shut up, Jaebum.” Jisoo groaned. “I’m not worried. I’m just curious.”

“Then, just go ask him. Now.” Jaebum said, nodding behind Jisoo.

Jisoo quickly turned and found Jinyoung standing behind her.

“Hey,” Jinyoung greeted. “What is it that you wanted to ask?”

“Hi, uh, nothing.” Jisoo stuttered.

Jaebum shakes his head. “I’ll just get my stuff. Get ready in a while for filming.”

Jisoo rolls her eyes. It’s Friday night and they are about to go to Jaebum’s studio to film an episode for Jinji. For tonight, due to lack of preparation, they are just going to film a movie night episode and since they don't have much budget, they are just setting up Jaebum’s studio. There’s nothing much to change in his place anyway since it already looks like a mini theater the way it is.

“So, what it is?” Jinyoung asked when Jaebum has gone to get the cameras.

“Nothing.” Jisoo denied turning to her computer to turn it off.

Jinyoung walked to Jisoo’s station and leaned on her table on the exact place where he was a few nights ago.

Jinyoung eyed her. “You’re talking behind my back, are you?”

Jisoo turned pale. “No. I wasn't!”

Jinyoung grinned. “You’re cute when you’re flustered.”

Jisoo rolled her eyes and turned to her things instead.

“Did you sleep well last night? The other night?” Jisoo asked, eyes fixed on her things she’s stuffing on her bag.

“Was that the question you wanted to ask?” Jinyoung asked back.

“Sort of?” Jisoo mumbles.

Jinyoung smiles. “Well then, sort of.”

 

 

Jaebum’s studio is less than an hour drive from the HQ but since it’s a Friday, traffic is just expectedly heavier. It took them about an hour and a half to get to the studio. One more hour for setup—they’re a lot slower with less manpower since Lisa and Bambam both have their own schedules for tonight—by the time they’re ready for filming, it’s already eleven in the evening.

“Oh wait, we need food.” Jaebum mumbles looking up from the light he’s setting up. “Can you two go and buy? We need food in the setup.”

“Why didn't you prepare it earlier?” Jisoo groaned. “It’s almost midnight.”

“Come, on, please? There’s a convenience store two blocks away.” Jaebum pleaded. “Just get my wallet from my bag.”

Before any of the two could protest, Jaebum got lost in his room, taking out some more equipment.

Jisoo sighed and went to Jaebum’s bag, knowing exactly where his wallet is.

“Come on.” Jisoo told Jinyoung.

“Wait.” Jinyoung says handing Jaebum’s coat that’s lying on the couch.

“Cover up.” He said. For perspective, Jisoo is wearing a loose pullover and denim shorts. They wanted to film as if it’s daytime, hence the massive light setup, and they just had to dress according to it.

Jisoo looks offended. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” The summer has just ended and it’s not even that cold to wear a coat; that’s why she didn't bring her own.

“There’s nothing wrong with what you wear.” Jinyoung replied calmly. “But there’s a lot of things wrong in this world. One of those is the fact that the world is cruel to women at night when it shouldn't be. It’s better safe than sorry.”

Jisoo was blushed in embarrassment. She has always hated it when people tell her to cover up _just because_ it’s late. It is the first time she actually encountered someone who has that perspective—which, while somehow true, is still fucked up—and she never expected to hear it from Jinyoung.

Jisoo was about to reach for the coat when he realized it is Jaebum’s.

“Wait, that’s Jaebum’s. I hate his perfume.” Jisoo groans. “Forget it. It’s just a couple of blocks away. Nothing will happen and you’re with me. Shield me from the cruelty.”

Jisoo said with a grin walking straight to the door, examining Jaebum’s wallet.

Just before she reaches for the door, she felt a coat being draped over her shoulders.

“Hey, I said—“ she got distracted when she turned to Jinyoung and found him wearing Jaebum’s coat instead and the beige coat he was wearing a while ago is the one on her shoulders.

“I wear Jo Malone perfume. It should smell nice.” Jinyoung mumbles as he walks past Jisoo, leaving her behind as he steps out of the studio.

It did smell nice and pretty distracting. For some reasons she can’t explain, wearing Jinyoung’s coat is making Jisoo nervous. She got a little bit too distracted that she ended up throwing the same kind of potato chips to their basket thrice. Jinyoung raised eyebrows at her and she just said she liked onion chips so much—which is a lie, of course.

“I weren’t talking behind your back a while ago.” Jisoo mumbles when they are on their way back to Jaebum’s studio, carrying one bag of snack each.

“Huh?” Jinyoung mumbles.

“Earlier.” Jisoo replied. “When you arrvied. Jaebum and I weren’t talking about you. Well, I tried. I did ask him what’s up with you but I took it back immediately. I realized it’s none of my business and I shouldn't care.”

Jinyoung turned to Jisoo, examining her. She’s staring down at the bag she’s holding, avoiding all possible eye contacts with him.

Jinyoung finds himself in the dilemma. The comfort he felt after telling Jisoo about his dreams is quite promising. He doesn't know if it’s because he has finally let it out or if it’s because of Jisoo’s charm. He’s sure of one thing though; he’s yearning for that comfort.

But there is a voice inside of him stopping him. There is a voice inside of him telling him that he shouldn't feel that way. He doesn't deserve that comfort.

Jisoo suddenly turns to Jinyoung, making him jump in surprise, and there it is—the concern in her eyes. He hasn't even said a word and, yet, it feels like she’s already telling him everything’s going to be all right.

“You think there’s something wrong with me?” Jinyoung asked.

“No, that’s not what I mean.” Jisoo disagreed. “I just… I don't know, I want to understand you.”

A soft smile flashed on Jinyoung’s face.

Maybe it’s about time he let go. Maybe he’s being selfish. He doesn't know why. He just knows he needs this.

“Do you want to sit down first? This is going to be long.” Jinyoung chuckled, motioning to the bench just outside Jaebum’s studio.

Jisoo’s face lights up but she tried not to look so excited. She didn't want to look as if she’s excited to pry into his personal life. She walked to the bench and sat down, Jinyoung following her in an instant.

They sat there in silence at first. Jinyoung is just watching the cars passing by and Jisoo just patiently waiting for him.

“Back in New York,” Jinyoung started. “I had the best time of my life. I have a great career, good friends—it’s N-Y-fucking-C for crying out loud. It’s the dream.”

Jisoo turned to him, all ears.

A faint smile flashed across Jinyoung’s face as he reminisce. “But the best thing about NYC is that it led me to the love of my life.”

Jisoo felt an unexplainable feeling in the pit of her stomach. Even though Jennie has brought up the possibility of him being in a relationship and after considering it too, she still didn't know how to react now that she’s hearing it directly from Jinyoung.

“I met her in college, in my drama class.” Jinyoung continued. “It was something straight out of a chick flick. We met, we fell in love, we graduated, then we both aimed for our dream jobs. It’s the success story every college student ever dreamed of and yet, I was there, living that dream.”

“We were happy and in love. We moved in together right after graduation. We’ve supported each other. She started small with independent productions while I aim for the bigger, more ambitious path—I got into The New York Times and worked damn hard to be on top.”

There was a long pause after, as if he’s hesitating to continue.

“I kissed my editors’ assess so much that I ended up leaving her behind.” He admitted with sigh.

“And yet she didn’t mind. She still supported me, even from a far. Because that’s what love is supposed to be; you’re supposed to support each other. We love each other so we had to support each other. And that’s where I failed. I got too greedy and ambitious at work that I forgot to support her.”

“I’m not asking her about her auditions anymore. Hell, I’m not even asking how her days went.”

Jinyoung curls his hands tightly on his knees. There was agony in his voice but more importantly, there’s guilt.

“Turns out,” Jinyoung struggles to continue, he’s choking up already. “She has been failing her auditions. The independent productions she used to participate in weren’t contacting her anymore. She got fired from her part time work twice.”

“She was suffering and I didn’t know. I didn’t care. She would always say everything’s all right and I’m too fucking dumb to believe her.”

Jinyoung curled his fist tightly as he starts to cry. Pain is starting to creep up in Jisoo too as she watch Jinyoung, as she listens to his voice cracking.

“Because the moment someone said everything’s fine is the moment you should know nothing is fine and I knew that.”

Jinyoung paused.

“B-but I chose not to care. I chose to keep a blind eye because I’ll lose my focus on work. I’m selfish. I’m fucking selfish.”

Jinyoung puts his head in between his hands, aggressively pulling his hair in frustration.

“While she continued to love me, I loved myself more in return.” He says, his head still buried in his hands.

He took a moment again, collecting his words and catching his breath. Jisoo feels heavy too and, honestly, she wants to stop Jinyoung. She wants to stop him from remembering and hurting himself.

“By the time it all made sense, it’s too late.” Jinyoung’s voice turned serious, a little bit more stable before it breaks drastically and tears fall down his face.

“It’s too fucking late. Because the moment I realized I fucked up, I already lost her. It was a fucking slap in the face because what brought me back to reality is seeing her lying on our bathroom floor, bottles of pills I didn't even know she takes scattered all over the floor… and it’s too late. It’s too fucking late.”

That was when Jinyoung broke down. He has his head on his hands again, sobbing.

Jisoo feels bad. She hates herself for asking Jinyoung about his life. She shouldn't have been curious. If she only knew it’s going to hurt Jinyoung this much, she should have just let her mouth shut and kept her curiosity to herself.

“It’s too late…” Jinyoung mumbles as he looks up from his hands to the sky. “Too fucking late. She’s gone.”

For the first time in Jisoo’s life, she doesn't know what to say. The urge to make Jinyoung feel better, to take away his tears is too much that it’s making her chest hurt and her eyes tear up. She wants to do anything but she can’t come up with words.

So, instead, she reached for Jinyoung’s cheek and wiped his tears away. It was useless because the tears won’t stop falling but neither of them mind. It’s the least that Jisoo can do.

Jisoo then moved her hand from Jinyoung’s cheek to his shoulders, pulling him closer.

Jinyoung didn't hesitate and he buries his head on her shoulder.

He has always hated it when people hear his story and tell him they’re sorry. He hates it whenever people pity him and try to comfort him by telling him it’s okay and that it’s not his fault. He has always been repulsive when people try to give him a hug or a touch for comfort.

But this is the first time that he is taking it all in. In the absence of words and with the warmth of Jisoo’s touch, Jinyoung, for the first time ever, finds true comfort.

 

 

That night, Jisoo realized how good of an actor Jinyoung is.

They got lost track of time and if not for Jaebum calling them and telling them they’ve been out for more than an hour, they’re probably still at the bench now instead of filming the fifth episode like they’re supposed to.

Jisoo asked Jinyoung if he’s fine with filming tonight. Honestly, she herself isn’t feeling quite well to film, she just feels this heaviness in her heart. If it’s her decision to make, she’ll cancel the filming without even asking. But Jinyoung told her, with the softest, saddest smile, that it’s okay. He doesn’t mind getting through with the filming tonight.

It’s quite scary how good Jinyoung can act in front of the camera as if he hasn't had a break down just a few minutes ago. It’s heartbreaking how much he can fool anyone that he’s okay when he’s breaking inside into bits and pieces.

Jaebum asked the two where they’ve been and Jinyoung simply lied saying they went to eat some tteokboki on their way back. Jaebum isn’t too dumb to believe but he’s smart enough not to ask any more questions.

When they arrived at the studio, everything is ready—the light and camera setup, the couch and even the movie is just a click away from starting. Jaebum took the liberty to choose the film while the two are gone and he chose _About Time._ It’s a film about a guy named Tim who has the ability to travel to the past—feel-good romantic comedy with the right about of drama to make the softies cry—as expected from a Richard Curtis film.

About two hours later, the finished the film and are now filming the episode’s closing spiels, sharing their reaction about the film. It was pretty generic. Jinyoung said the film has a good balance of drama and comedy. He commended it’s good storytelling and shared that his favorite part—Jisoo was quite surprised he’s focused enough to pick a favorite part—was Tim and Mary’s wedding because despite being chaotic, Tim didn't choose to use his time traveling abilities to fix it. Jisoo, on the other hand, shared that the thing she loved in the movie the most was how calm and contented Tim’s father was in the film. While having a love story like Tim and Mary is something she’ll always dream of, having an outlook in life just like Tim’s father has is definitely something she’ll want to have in her real life too.

They were just finishing up when Jaebum, who’s standing behind the camera, puts up a sketch board with his additional questions. The page says: _ask this—if you have a Tim’s ability to travel to the past, which memory would you go back to?_

Being used to production and cramming, Jisoo reads it out loud without much thought.

“Hey, so if you can travel to the past like Tim, where will you go back?” Jisoo asks in perfect acting.

“Hm,” Jinyoung smiles sweetly, taking his time to think of something. “Let’s see. Oh, I’d probably go back to the time I was in high school. There’s a lot of embarrassing moments I’d like to change.” Jinyoung chuckles and Jisoo laughs with him. “How about you?”

“Me? A memory I’d like to go back and change?” It was only when she repeated it that Jisoo understood the weight of the question.

Jisoo turned to Jinyoung and locked eyes with him. It seem like he’s happy reminiscing some random memories from his high school days but as Jisoo examines Jinyoung’s eyes, she is almost certain he is thinking of a different thing.

Looking back in your past, most of the time, involves regret; especially if having the ability to change it is part of the question. That is exactly what Jisoo sees in Jinyoung’s eyes. His eyes are filled with guilt, regret and the urge to do anything to change what has happened.

Jisoo smiles. “If there’s one memory I’d like to go back to, I’d go back to that afternoon when I was fourteen. My mom, dad and I are having cold noodles at our restaurant. It was a hot afternoon but we were feeling good. We were sharing stories, laughing—we were even singing.” Jisoo giggles.

“I’ve always remembered that memory very vividly and I’d always wonder why, it’s not even that special.” Jisoo continued. “It was only when my parents got divorced that I realized why. It was the last time when the three of us are all happy—all truly happy and I’ll always cherish it my heart.”

“That sounds like a good memory, why would you change it?” Jinyoung asks in curiosity.

Jisoo turned to Jinyoung with a soft smile. Jaebum looks up from the camera screen and turns to Jisoo and Jinyoung. He has worked with Jisoo for a really long. He knows when she’s acting and when she gets lost in her thoughts. What she is doing right now is letting herself get lost in her thoughts. Jaebum is sure he can’t use this material but he let her be, wondering what she is up to.

“I believe things happen for a reason. No matter how awful it may be, it happened because it has a purpose and who am I to meddle it and change it?” Jisoo mumbles, she has stopped acting for a while now.

“So, if I have the chance to go back in time, I won't do anything to change the past. Instead, I’d go back to the time that I was happy and I will just simply relive it.”

Jisoo and Jinyoung are just staring in each other’s eyes for a moment.

There it is again—the sensation they both had when they first locked eyes but this time, instead of just being lost in each other’s eyes, there’s more depth into their stares. This time, there is a message. It’s as if Jisoo is trying to tell Jinyoung things that words fail to express.

Jisoo smiles as she reaches for Jinyoung’s face, caressing it softly before resting her hand between his neck and shoulder.

“I hope you see it that way too.” Jisoo mumbles. “Instead of remembering the sad parts, why don't you just reminisce the beautiful memories?”

The brief moment before Jinyoung takes before making any response is making Jisoo nervous.

Jinyoung swallows as he takes a deep breath, still looking into Jisoo’s eyes. He then took Jisoo’s hand from his shoulder and rests it on his lap, on top of his other hand. He just stared at their hands for another moment, savoring Jisoo’s warmth.

His reply comes when he looked up to Jisoo, his eyes clear and watery, and gave her the most bittersweet smile.

 

 

They packed up filming at around four in the morning. Pretty late but nothing new when it comes to filming. Jisoo drove Jinyoung home but none of them spoke a word during the twenty-minute drive.

When Jinyoung got to their apartment, Yugyeom is asleep on the couch with the TV on and Jackson, as usual, is nowhere to be seen. Normally, Jinyoung would make a fuss and scold Yugyeom for leaving the TV open but he’s too tired to do anything.

He just changed into fresh sweats and shirt before plopping himself on his bed. He closed his eyes, as if daring if the bad dreams will come. And they didn't.

For the first time in months, it looks like Jinyoung is about to have a peaceful sleep.

Until his phone started ringing.

Jinyoung sighed, eyes still closed, before reaching for his phone. He answered the call without looking at the caller ID, putting it in his ear.

“Jinyoung?”

The voice made his eyes shot open. While it’s a voice he doesn't expect to hear through the phone this early, it’s a very familiar voice he is starting to get fond of.

“Jisoo?”

“Oh, thank God it’s the right number.” It was as if Jinyoung can see her smiling. “I’m worried Jaebum was messing with me.”

“What’s up?” Jinyoung asked.

“Nothing. I just…” Jisoo trails off, not knowing how to continue. “Do you know what I do on nights I can’t sleep?”

Jinyoung didn't have to answer.

“I read some random facts on the internet.” Jisoo continued. “You know, those weird funny facts. It doesn't necessarily makes me sleepy but at least it makes the staying up part quite meaningful.” Jisoo giggled before continuing. “Anyway, here we go. Did you know you can’t say happiness without saying penis?”

Jinyoung blushed before bursting into laughter. “You really started with that?”

Jisoo giggled from the other line, thankful she can make Jinyoung laugh after tonight.

“Here’s more. Did you that Nicolas Cage once had a pet octopus?”

“He did?”

“Yes. He thought it’s going to make his acting better. Weird, right? Did you know you can’t sneeze with your eyes open?”

“Don't try doing it now, you’ll look dumb.”

Jinyoung chuckled.

“What do they call French kiss in France?”

“Huh? I don't know. A regular kiss because they’re all French?”

Jisoo giggled. “ _Deang!_ They call it English kiss. What is Minnie Mouse’s full name?”

“She has a full name? Let’s see, Minnie? Hm… Minerva?”

“Shit. How did you know that?”

Jinyoung chuckled. “Wild guess.”

Jinyoung’s chest ached, not because of pain but because of too much laughter. So this is Jisoo’s idea of making him feel better, he figured. She’s definitely being a good distraction and so much more.

 

 

Jisoo wakes up in shock. It’s one in the afternoon and she just realized she fell asleep while talking to Jinyoung on the phone. She can’t remember saying goodbye or good night so the chances that she fell at sleep while on the phone is very high—the irony when she called him to stay up with him but she ended up sleeping first.

She immediately checked her phone. She has two notifications. One of them is a text from Jinyoung simply saying _Thanks for tonight. Have some nice sleep too_ —the absence of emojis is something she actually expects from Jinyoung but it is enough to make her smile.

The sight of the other notification sent shivers through her whole body. It’s from Instagram. Even without opening it, she’s quite sure it’s from Jinyoung too and she’s not really sure how to feel about it.

She still opened it anyway because she’s the type to face her fears to end her worries.

She’s right. It’s a notification from Jinyoung; he has accepted her follow request.

She can’t understand why but it’s making her nervous. She was so curious about Jinyoung’s Instagram but now that she can finally view it, she can’t bring herself into opening his account. There’s fear—fear of the unknown and fear of what she will know.

It’s getting a bit dramatic now so she took a deep breath then clicked his profile without thinking anymore.

Jinyoung wasn't lying when he said his favorite subject is an angel because there _she_ is— _his_ angel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof that was some unexpected angst TT
> 
> btw, for anyone who hasn't seen About Time, I suggest you guys give it a try. It's one of my faves and it's a really good film--it's a romcom with the right about amount of tears and lessons in life. Go watch it and the last part of this chapter will make more sense lol
> 
> Tell me what you think about this chapter! Comments are always highly appreciated and you can drop some love and constructive criticism (or hate it's okay lol) on my twitter and cc @.howtobeucoco too!
> 
> Thank you so much! <3


	5. Stuck

It was a fine day in the middle of June; a bright and sunny Sunday afternoon. The wind was perfectly cooling the heat of the sun. It seems just a regular day.

Or that’s what Jennie thought.

Sundays were usually meant for staying in. Weekdays were meant for work while Saturdays were for hanging out with friends. That’s why most Sundays, Jaebum and Jennie spent it at home, staying in bed for most of the day, only getting up when they get hungry.

But that day, they woke up early. Jaebum told Jennie to dress up because they're going to an art gallery. Jennie didn't mind. She’s not so much into art galleries—or at least depending on the theme—but ever since she met Jaebum, she has appreciated its beauty even more. In fact, she has found herself looking forward to local art exhibits too—an acquired habit for being with Jaebum for about six years.

They were in the car, driving to the gallery. Jennie didn't even bother asking what kind of exhibit they are seeing that day. She didn't ask any more details; her hand on Jaebum’s as they drive is enough for her to know that it’s a good day.

Jaebum stole glances at her as he drove. It’s one of his favorite things—seeing Jennie with her gummy smile. Little did he know that he’s always the reason behind that smile.

They got to the gallery after about an hour drive. It was a beautiful place. It’s on a hill and there’s a dreamy garden outside—pots of flowers and vine-y plants greeted the couple as they enter.

It’s quite odd for a gallery—no matter what the theme is—to be empty, especially on a Sunday. There will always be a couple or small groups around. But this time, only Jennie and Jaebum were there. She figured it’s probably because it was still early.

They entered the hall hand-in-hand, Jaebum planting a soft, chaste kiss on Jennie’s temple just as he intertwines his fingers with hers.

What Jennie saw inside the gallery gave her the ultimate surprise of a lifetime.

The photos exhibited in the gallery were photos of her.

There was a photo of her backstage on her first runway show; she was holding a bouquet of flowers that Jaebum got her. There’s another which was taken when they were in college, Jennie was quietly reading a book in the library. Another one was when she was helping with a Post It production, she was holding a reflector, looking rather tired but she still has a beautiful smile.

The entire gallery is literally filled with photos of her—some of them she remembers very clearly but some of them, she cannot even remember when was taken.

Jennie walks around the gallery in an overwhelming awe. It didn't take long enough before her eyes started tearing up because of so much happiness.

She turned around to face Jaebum and he just had this wide, ecstatic smile plastered on his face. Jennie walked back to him and took his hand, dragging him to the end of the gallery, pointing at the photos she remembers and the two of them laughing at the memories.

It was at the far end of the gallery when Jennie completely broke down in tears. A black and white photo was hanging on the wall. It was taken during Jaebum’s birthday, if she’s not mistaken. They were at the rooftop and it was raining. She was surrounded by the people she loves and are important to her. In the photo, she was dancing with Jaebum. Jaebum has his back on the camera but Jennie was facing the camera and she has this huge gummy smile. She doesn't remember much about that day except that she was genuinely, truly happy in the arms of the man she loves.

She took a minute to let the beauty of the photo sink.

And just when she thought that night couldn't get anymore blissful, she turned around and found Jaebum on one knee, holding a tiny box with a shining diamond ring in it. The tough guy is now in tears too.

“Please marry me.”

 

***

 

 

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.” Jisoo says. “Or later, technically.”

Jinyoung smiled weakly, eyes almost shutting. “Yeah, sorry to keep you awake. Again.”

“It’s fine.” Jisoo yawned. “It’s fun anyway.”

Jinyoung chuckled. “Yeah, you better sleep now or else you’ll oversleep and be late for the shoot.”

Jisoo’s answer was a mumble neither of them can comprehend.

“Sorry again and thank you.” Jinyoung said. “Good night.”

Jisoo didn't even wait for Jinyoung to hang up, she just simply took her phone away from her ear and put it on her bedside table. She yawns, stretching her arms out, before covering herself with her cream fuzzy blanket.

It’s almost three in the morning, Jinyoung and Jisoo have been on the phone for the past, more or less, two hours. This has been the third night in a row since Jisoo’s sudden call to Jinyoung, spitting random facts to keep Jinyoung accompany on a sleepless night.

On the second night, Jisoo has riddles ready surprising Jinyoung but still ended answering them and getting a lot of them right. Tonight, as if on schedule and just in time for Jinyoung’s waiting, Jisoo called with her childhood stories stacked. The funny and too embarrassing stories to tell but she ended up sharing them to him, not even bothering to save face.

She has about four more hours to sleep before she wakes up again to get ready for their shoot but she doesn't care, she’s going to have a good sleep.

 

 

“Are we sure about this?”

“Look at him, he’s like a sad emoji personified.”

“Let him be. This is his decision in the first place.”

Jisoo, Lisa and Mark whisper respectively. They were in a huddle talking about their producer-slash-director Jaebum. Mark is their camera guy today and they are just finishing the setup at the gallery of their Jinji filming when they noticed that Jaebum is, obviously, not having the best day of his life.

“That’s right.” Jisoo agrees. “This is his decision. He brought this to himself.”

“But I’m worried.” Lisa said. “Look at him—why didn't he just book another place? There are tons of galleries in Seoul.”

“Hey guys, what’s this meeting about?”

Lisa and Jisoo squealed in surprise while Mark just casually nods at Jinyoung who suddenly appeared, joining the three’s little huddle.

“Whatever guys, let just do this quick so he can be saved from his misery.” Mark says as he preps his camera then leaves the huddle.

“What’s up?” Jinyoung asks looking at Lisa and Jisoo.

The question is left unanswered when Jaebum appeared.

“Okay, guys.” Jaebum started. “We’ll do the spiels later. For now, we’re going to film you as you check out the paintings. Just act sweet, as usual but please make it casual and not too scripted.”

Jaebum talked so fast, and a little bit too dry, that before Jisoo and Jinyoung knew, they were already rolling and Jaebum is out of sight.

“Did someone forget to take their happy pill?” Jinyoung asked.

Jisoo answered with a sigh as the start walking, taking small steps.

“Tell me about it.” Jisoo mumbles. “He doesn't like to walk down the memory lane, I guess.”

“Huh?” Jinyoung mumbles, his eyebrows furrow.

“Guys, in case you forget, you’re on cam and Jaebum’s probably going to watch this later. So, talk about everything else except his ex.” Mark says, looking up from the camera. “I’m starting over. Three, two, slate!”

Jisoo and Jinyoung exchanged looks before laughing in unison.

“That was close. I’ll tell you about it later.” Jisoo winks.

The filming went well. If in the past episodes, Jisoo and Jinyoung both did well acting, this time it’s exemplary—it was if they are not even acting anymore.

And they weren’t. They were having the most natural conversation, talking about the different art pieces featured in the gallery. There were some bickering and loads of laughter. By the end of the first part of filming, Mark is smiling so wide, he’s giddy just by filming the two.

 

 

“Is it really a habit of yours to talk behind other people’s back?” Jinyoung asks.

They are having a fifteen-minute break; Jisoo went outside of the gallery to get some fresh air, or to just excuse herself from seeing how miserable Jaebum looks, when Jinyoung followed him.

“Hey, I don't talk behind people’s back okay—except today.” Jisoo admitted. “Because there are some things you can’t say in front of your friend’s face. Case on point; Jaebum.”

Jinyoung chuckled. Jisoo’s wit always amazes him.

“What’s up with him?” Jinyoung asked. “He’s way too grumpier than usual. I was just asking if there’s a vendo machine around and he answered with a hiss.”

Jisoo sighed. “You see, he’s very sad and he made this happen to him.”

“This gallery is where he proposed to Jennie.” Jisoo revealed.

“Oh.” Jinyoung nods. “Then why did he choose this place for filming?”

“Exactly!” Jisoo exclaimed. “I don't know. Probably to tell us that it means nothing to him anymore? Which is a total bullshit because look at him, he’s obviously affected and no one even mentioned it to him. I don't understand your friend. Has he always been like that?”

Jinyoung shrugs, raising his hands on surrender. “I don't know. A lot have changed over the past ten years, it seems.”

“Wait, so you mean, Jaebum’s proposal was in a gallery?” Jinyoung says after a brief moment of silence. “How cheesy is that?”

“Very cheesy.” Jisoo mumbles. “He had the whole place rented and he basically put a Jennie exhibit. Her pictures that he collated for the course of their relationship were posted. You know those very aesthetic and candid pictures? Those stuff I remember staying up late just to help him set everything up. But, overall, it’s actually pretty sweet. I think you’ll be into those kinds of gesture. It’s like your—“

Jisoo stopped midway. She was supposed to say _like your Instagram_ but decided against her will because it doesn't sound much like a good comment.

She glanced at Jinyoung, checking if he somehow understood and he’s just smiling. Jisoo wanted the soil to just eat her up right there in embarrassment.

“Looks like we know where Jaebum got his idea.” Jinyoung mumbles with a light chuckle.

Jisoo turned to him, expecting to see him with a fake or sarcastic smile but it’s nothing but a genuine one. Jisoo can’t help but smile too.

“She’s beautiful.” Jisoo mumbles, referring to the _angel_ in Jinyoung’s Instagram.

Jinyoung’s grin melts into a soft smile. “She really _is_.”

They were quiet for a moment.

Different from the last time they talked about _her_ , this time Jinyoung looks a little bit calmer. It’s still a bittersweet smile but somehow, somewhere, Jisoo sees a hope that it’s getting a little bit better. She hopes.

“WHAT?!”

Jaebum’s roaring voice immediately takes Jisoo and Jinyoung’s attention, rising panic in them too.

They exchanged looks before turning to the gallery and getting inside in an instant.

“You were recording for an hour! How can you say it didn't record anything?” Jaebum’s has his hands on his waist, looking at Mark with a mix of frustration and disbelief in his eyes.

“The memory card inserted on the camera got corrupted.” Mark, trying so hard to be calm, says.

“The lighting was bad anyway. It wasn't a good footage.” Lisa added, pacifying the situation.

“Then why didn't you take care of the lighting in the first place?” Jaebum told Lisa before turning back to Mark. “And you were supposed to check the memory card before filming!”

Jaebum grunted, dropping his hands from his waist and turning away aggressively. “Come on, guys. That’s your job! Do I have to explain every single detail to you? That’s fucking basic!”

Jisoo swears to the heavens she saw Mark’s eyes went from a doe’s eyes to a lion’s sharp stare ready to throw the camera he’s holding to Jaebum. So, before things get out of hand—as if Jaebum’s moody ass isn’t out of hand yet—Jisoo threw herself to Mark, grabbing him by the arm.

“He’s already being an asshole, don't be like him.” Jisoo whispered to Mark.

Jaebum turned around just in time to see Jisoo and Mark whispering.

“See, this is why you guys are messing up work. You’re busy gossiping behind my back.” Jaebum says.

Jisoo tightened her grip on Mark’s arm but he’s done. He pulled away from Jisoo’s grip and Jisoo can’t do anything anymore but frown.

“Hey, Im Jaebum,” Marks says. Surprisingly, even though he looks so pissed, he still manages to talk calmly. “Don’t drag us into your bad day that you obviously just made for yourself. I’m done.”

Mark then handed the camera to Jisoo—not forgetting to mouth a soft sorry to her friend—before walking past Jaebum to get his things, leaving the gallery without more words.

“Take a break, Jaebum. You need it.” Lisa says, still a bit hurt over Jaebum’s harsh words, walking past Jaebum to get her things and exit the gallery—just like what Mark did. Lisa is not the type to act impulsively but this has been a long day for them already with Jaebum acting like a three-year-old throwing a tantrum. The dude needs a taste of his own medicine.

“Hey, Lisa, you too? Don't leave!” Jisoo cries but Lisa has made up her mind, waving with her back on them as she steps out.

Jisoo sighed heavily, turning Jaebum. Jaebum is obviously astonished but was quick to conceal his shock when Jisoo turned to him. Instead, he grunted.

“Just… you two can leave too.” He said dramatically turning around, leaving Jisoo and Jinyoung.

Jaebum’s steps were heavy and angry. He stepped out of the gallery, through the back door, earning a few stares from the people inside, making him more annoyed.

He took a deep, heavy breath as he shuts the door and the world behind him. This day isn’t supposed to be like this. Work has been stressing him out a lot lately and messing up a day for filming, pushing back his timelines, is never part of his plan.

As if his hands know exactly what to do in times like this, he involuntarily reaches for a cigarette box from his back pocket, taking a piece and putting in between his lips. He bowed his head down and lights it up, with the lighter he always has on his pocket. The nicotine traveling from lips to his throat down to his lungs, as he takes his first drag off, gives him a different kind of relief.

Jaebum was sixteen when had his first cigarette. He was in high school, he’s young and it’s triggered by no other than peer pressure. Not that he was associated with the troubled kids; for perspective, his friends are Jackson and Jinyoung—the varsity player and the student council officer, but one lazy afternoon, just like any other curious kid, the three of them got bored and thought about trying a few puffs.

Jaebum was the only one who got into it though. Jackson doesn't like the idea of him slowly killing himself and Jinyoung, while he joins Jaebum once in a while, was afraid he’ll ruin his good boy image. Anyway, since then, Jaebum has been a smoker. He started young and it was one of the things he regrets the most in his life. If he can turn back time, he’ll go back to that moment when he had his first cigarette and not take it in the first place. A smoker wasn't just making an excuse when he says it’s hard to quit. Everyone knows it’s bad but that’s thing about cigarette, about nicotine—you know it’s bad for you and yet, you can’t stop. It’s addictive.

Jaebum knows that, with every drag, he is killing himself. He knows smoking is bad for him but he _likes_ it. Not just because of the nicotine but because that’s just how Jaebum has always been. He likes things that are bad for him—things that kill him.

That’s exactly what brought him here, in this exact same gallery where he proposed to Jennie more than two years ago.

In his defense, when he was looking through the list that Jinyoung and Jisoo gave him, he wasn't thinking about his proposal when he saw the gallery date. It was only when he’s doing his logistics, looking for the venue, when he remembered.

He was scanning through his contact list, looking for a person who can allow him to film, granted that they just have a couple of days to get approval and stuff. As an artistic person, his contact list has a lot of art people in them. Then he saw the name of the gallery’s owner, the exact same person he talked to while preparing for the proposal.

Maybe he was looking for an easy way in or maybe he’s just really someone who loves the pain, but he called the guy, without thinking twice. He didn't bother telling he was the same guy who did the proposal—he wants to save himself from embarrassment at least—but the guy still remembered him. When asked how was he and his supposed to be wife by now, Jaebum answered with a question about the gallery instead and it was enough for the guy to understand.

Jaebum can’t explain why he brought himself to this awful trip down the memory lane but this isn’t the only thing he does that still concerns Jennie.

Back at home, he still has Jennie’s favorite mug on his cupboard. Jennie’s two-year-old shampoo and conditioner bars are still lying on his bathroom. He has changed his toothbrush for about ten times for the past year but Jennie’s mint-colored toothbrush is still beside his. Half of Jennie’s clothes are still hanging on their closet, collecting dust.

Jaebum could argue that he’s just too lazy to throw away her stuff but that would be a big fat lie because the truth is, Jaebum just can’t get over Jennie. He will never get over her.

How do you expect him to forget the only woman he loved—the only woman he _loves_?

He chose not to clean up Jennie’s stuff, not because he wants to remember her in every corner of her house, but because he wants it to stay the way it was. Deep down inside his broken heart, he likes to believe that Jennie will still come back.

Every day when he wakes up, he caresses Jennie’s side of the bed while silently praying for the day when he gets to sleep next to her again. Two years have passed and Jaebum knows he should be moving on, he should be forgetting her now. She left him for crying out loud. Waiting for her is just tormenting himself, stomping at the wound in his heart.

He knows waiting is bad for him but just like smoking, it’s addicting and he just can’t stop.

 

 

When Jisoo got home from the shoot, a little bit later than planned, she is not-so surprised to come home hearing the television on; to the smell something in the oven and some aromatic perfume in her house.

“Can you at least give a heads up when you’re crashing my place?” Jisoo asks as she plops herself on her couch beside Jennie, snatching a few pieces of her friend’s popcorn.

“Geez, someone had a bad day at work?” Jennie says.

Jisoo groaned. “Tell me about it.”

“What happened?” Jennie asked.

“Your boyfriend is PMS-ing.” Jisoo replied, rolling her eyes.

Jennie frowned, getting a bit uncomfortable but letting it pass since Jisoo is obviously not in the mood for banter.

“What did he do again?” Jennie eventually says.

Jisoo opened her mouth, about to start ranting but she realized her rant concerns Jennie too so she closed her mouth, thinking whether or not she’ll continue.

This happens a lot of times when Jaebum and Jennie were together—Jisoo getting stuck in between. Whether it’s simply keeping white lies from the two or just simply having trouble which party to side whenever they get into arguments. In the end, Jisoo always chooses to be neutral and still, one of them will feel bad thinking they need her validation or something.

“Hey, what happened?” Jennie repeated in a much more serious tone, picking up from Jisoo’s pause.

Jisoo turned to Jennie before sighing. She’s done getting stuck in between. Jennie and Jaebum has to solve their shit and in order to do that, Jennie should be aware how Jaebum is acting.

“Do you remember what date we’re supposed to film today?” Jisoo asked.

Jennie’s brows furrow by the sudden question. “Huh? I don’t think I remember... the museum or something?”

“Gallery.” Jisoo corrected.

“Oh, yeah, right. So what about it?” Jennie asked.

“Well, until this morning, Jaebum decided not to talk about our location—which none of us dared to care about because we’re all busy—but guess where is our location.”

Jennie didn’t answer.

“Your gallery.” Jisoo says.

“My gallery?” Jennie echoed, totally clueless at first before remembering.

Memories from that day flash before Jennie’s eyes rapidly—from waking up that fine morning; to their quiet drive to the gallery; to when they enter the gallery and she found her pictures all around; to the way Jaebum’s eyes sparkle as he ask her to marry him—all of sudden, it’s all clear and vivid again as if it happened yesterday.

Jisoo started talking again but it’s not making any sense to Jennie. All she has in her mind is Jaebum and everything about him. It’s not just about the proposal now, but everything about him—about them.

Images of Jaebum—of their memories together are flashing in her eyes and it’s creating a lump in her throat and a digging a deeper hole in her heart.

It has been two years. It’s been two years of them half-the-globe away from each other but there’s not a day that Jennie thought of forgetting him. Jaebum is her first love and maybe they’re right when they say you can never forget your first love.

Or, maybe, she is not meant to forget him because how can she forget someone she hasn’t stopped loving?

“He remembered.”

Jennie cuts off Jisoo who is in the middle of telling her how Mark dashed out of the gallery.

“What?” Jisoo asked.

Jennie smiled weakly. This morning she woke up crying. She thought she dreamed of something terrible that she just can’t remember. But as she gets up and checks her phone, she saw the date today and she felt crying once again.

It’s their anniversary, supposed to be their six years of being together if she wasn’t so scared of choosing both her love and dreams.

Jennie turned to Jisoo with the same bittersweet smile and teary eyes which made Jisoo worry.

“It’s our anniversary.” Jennie mumbles. “Well, supposed to be.”

“Oh, Jennie,” Jisoo mumbles softly, pulling Jennie into a hug in an instant. “I’m so sorry.” She said rubbing her back.

Jennie took a moment savouring her best friend’s warm hug—just the exact thing she needed in times like this.

It didn’t take long before Jennie breaks into tears. Jisoo’s heart breaks as she hears her cry. No words are needed to know that Jennie is still hurting and she’s missing Jaebum just as much as he do.

“Oh, God, let’s stop this drama.” Jennie says with a fake chuckle as she exits Jisoo’s embrace.

“So, he messed up the shoot? Did he make a grand exit too?” Jennie says with another fake chuckle as she wipes the tears off her eyes and cheeks.

He went out to smoke was what Jisoo wanted to answer but she knows it’s going to make Jennie so mad. It took Jennie about two years convincing Jaebum to quit smoking and Jisoo swears Jennie is a lot happier when he quit than when he proposed to her.

“He did walk out but not out of the gallery, just took some fresh air to breath.” Was what Jisoo ended up saying. “Fortunately, Jinyoung was there to talk to him ‘cause I’d probably leave him there too. In the end, Jinyoung convinced him too that we should carry on with filming and we did. He even helped with framing some shots. You know, for someone who doesn’t know how to properly film using iPhones, he’s actually good with cinematography.” Jisoo laughs.

“Wasn’t he with Jaebum in that JJ Project thing?” Jennie asked.

“You knew that?” Jisoo asked, sounding like an accusation.

Jennie was caught off guard with the sudden accusation. “I just, uh, assumed? He said he was with his best friend and so it makes sense?”

“Okay.” Jisoo nods. “Well, anyway, yes he is. And he’s actually good at it. He’s even good at editing! One time, he even helped me editing an episode for Jinji and it came out so good! Then he was...”

Jisoo trails off when she realized Jennie is looking at her, her still wet eyes are teasing her.

“What?” Jisoo asked.

“Someone’s getting fond of her virtual boyfriend.” Jennie teased.

Jisoo blushed. “No, I’m not!”

Jennie laughs. “You talk about him everytime. The other day, you were talking about how he’s a bookworm just like you. Oh, and one time, you even told me he once acted as Romeo in a Romeo and Juliet play; Jinyoung that, Jinyoung this—I mean, I don’t even know how you get to know these stuff about him.”

By talking on the phone every night. Jisoo wanted to say but she didn’t want to give Jennie more grounds in teasing her so she kept her mouth shut.

“But it sounds like you have a crush on him.” Jennie declared.

Jisoo’s eyes widened. “Me? Crushing on that lame guy?”

“Oh, now he’s lame.” Jennie mumbles.

“Come on, Jennie. My standards are way too high for a Park Jinyoung.” Jisoo said.

“Let’s see...” Jennie started. “A bookworm, has a soothing voice when he sings—that’s exactly how you described his singing voice, a gentleman—again, based on your stories, someone who you can converse with intellectually... yup, he’s exactly the epitome of your ideal type.”

Jisoo rolled her eyes. “Doesn’t mean I have a crush on him. Will we ever talk about him without you telling I have a thing for him?”

Jennie burst into a laughter, making her eyes tear up again. “I know you by the back of your hand, Jisoo and you may be denying it now but you’re gonna realize it soon, when you’re in too deep already, and when that happens, I’m gonna throw a party for you.”

“I can’t have feelings for him.” Jisoo says as she leans back her couch. “I can’t.”

Jennie is right. Jisoo is probably starting to have a crush on Jinyoung. She wouldn’t admit it but it all started when she heard him sing and grows every time he smiles. When he opened up to her, Jisoo knows she’s already in too deep. She wanted to help him, to fix him, to make him whole again even if it means picking up each of the pieces of his broken heart and getting herself hurt in the process—she doesn’t care as long as he feels better again.

And, yet, Jisoo can’t have feelings for him. She just can’t because his heart will always belong to _her_.

 

***

 

“Guys! Guys! Guys!” Rosé calls as she opens the brain room’s door swinging open, finding everyone—Jisoo, Jaebum, Mark, Lisa, Youngjae and Bambam—huddled around the table. “You’re all here?”

“What happened?” Youngjae stands up, alarmed, a pizza in hand while his mouth is busy chewing.

“Eating pizza? And you didn’t invite me?” Rosé asked in disbelief.

“Your station is too close to the tiger’s lair.” Bambam mumbles, mouth filled with pizza, referring to Dohwan’s office which is just beside Rosé’s. “We can’t risk pizza for that.”

Rosé rolls her eyes, shutting the door behind her then walking inside, taking the seat that Youngjae just left.

Youngjae just sighs in protest. The brain room is a little bit too small for eight people but they always love squeezing in, especially on stressful days like this.

“Why are you even hiding? It’s not like Dohwan will ask for a piece of pizza.” Rosé says reaching for a slice. “He doesn’t bother anymore.”

“That’s not the point,” Jisoo says, wiping the sides of her lips with a tissue, just before reaching for another slice of pizza. “I have two reports due, I just want to take a breath of fresh air.” She says sniffing her slice of pizza before devouring it.

“Is it just me or is it really annoying whenever he walks around and watches us when we work? Like, what does he think we are, high school kids?” Bambam ranted.

“You can basically feel his breath on your neck sometimes.” Jaebum agreed.

“Hey, doesn’t the brain room has CCTV?” Lisa asks, looking around. “What if the tiger is actually watching us right now?”

“Mark and Jaebum took care of it long ago. They had the wire messed up so whatever is showing on his screen is just a frozen frame. Right?” Youngjae explained, turning to Mark and Jaebum—who have wide grins on their faces, exchanging stares. Just like most guys, they have forgotten about their supposed rift and are back to being buddies the next day.

“Anyway, Rosé,” Jisoo mumbles, shifting everyone’s attention. “What were you gonna say? You seem so excited.”

“Oh, yeah! I almost forgot.” Rosé says putting down her slice of pizza.

She looks around the table, everyone is looking at her with anticipation—even Mark and Jaebum who doesn’t seem to care about anything besides their pizza.

Rosé breaks into a wide grin, having trouble keeping her excitement.

“Jinji gained one million followers on Instagram!” Rosé announced. “In just about two weeks!”

“O-M-G.” Lisa says.

“A million followers?” Jisoo echoed. “Oh my gosh. That’s a lot in just two weeks.”

Rosé nods. “I know. And your accumulated views in the first four episodes is close to six million now. This series is really a hit!”

Jisoo turned to Jaebum from across the table. His face obviously lit up hearing the news.

“You owe me a fucking lot, Im Jaebum.” Jisoo says, throwing a piece of crumpled tissue at Jaebum.

Jaebum tried, but failed, to catch it and ended up getting hit on his shoulder as he burst into a wide grin.

“Aye! This calls for drinks!” Youngjae teased!

“Yes, you owe us a lot, Jaebum!” Lisa agreed. Unlike Mark, Lisa needed a little bit of bribe. The next day after the messed up shoot, Jaebum—through Jisoo’s direction—filled Lisa’s table with colorful gumballs and it was a truce.

“Okay, okay.” Jaebum says, his grin still wide. “Drinks are on me this Friday.”

“Yay!”

While they’re all cheering and congratulating Jaebum, they suddenly hear a siren sound, alarming everyone.

“What’s that?”

“Is there a fire?”

“A drill?”

Jaebum, Jisoo and Youngjae says in equal panic.

“Sorry!” Lisa says pulling out her phone from her back pocket then standing up from her chair. “That’s my phone. The tiger is calling me.” She groaned. “Gotta go!”

Before any of them could react, Lisa already dashed out of the room.

 

***

 

Jinyoung wakes up panting. He sits up on his bed catching his breath, beads of sweat drops from his temple down his chin and the rim of his shirt is wet from sweat too.

He gets off his bed and went to the kitchen to fetch himself water. He didn’t bother switching on the lights, letting the moonlight seeping through their window light up his path.

“You okay, man?” Yugyeom asks. His slender frame on the bathroom door didn’t even scare Jinyoung.

Jinyoung simply nods and Yugyeom already knows. He silently checked on Jinyoung once again before disappearing into his room.

Jinyoung drinks the bottle of water all in one go, crushing the plastic bottle as he puts it down.

He was dreaming again. The dreams don’t happen as often now but whenever he has them, it’s worse.

This time, in his dream, he was standing in a desert and from far away, he can see her. She’s calling him. At first, her voice was soft, calmly calling her. He started walking towards her but no matter how far and long he walked, it seems like she’s just getting farther and farther. With every step he takes, her voice turns more frantic. She wasn’t just calling him, he’s asking for him—crying for help.

Jinyoung walks faster, eager to get to her as his steps gets heavier. It’s as if the sand is absorbing his feet. But he struggled, he tried to find her until he stepped into a quicksand. As he sinks deeper into the sand, her cry gets louder and Jinyoung gets more hopeless.

Jinyoung turned around and took another bottle of water from the fridge before walking to their balcony.

He spent a couple of minutes just watching the calm night sky and city fast asleep down below but he can’t calm his mind.

He took a deep, exasperated breath before going back to his room and slumps himself back to his bed.

He wanted to get back to sleep, he really do. After a really long time of tormenting himself, he’s actually acknowledging that he’s no superhero; he needs rest and sleep but the bad dreams are stopping him from having rest.

He takes a deep breath and opened his eyes, quickly reaching for his phone from the bedside table.

Without thinking twice, he went to his call log, dialing the second person in the log.

“Jinyoung?” Jisoo answers after a couple of rings.

“Hey,” Jinyoung replies.

It wasn’t planned or anything but ever since Jisoo called him that night, firing some random facts to keep him awake, their late night calls became a regular thing now. Jisoo doesn’t seem to bother—at least that’s what Jinyoung likes to think. She never fails to call and Jinyoung knows she’s compromising her own sleep just to accompany him at night. They never talk about his dreams, Jisoo just sort of understands. As usual, she never runs out of things to share; she always has a random story to tell.

What Jinyoung wouldn’t admit is that, what started as a distraction, has now turned into a go-to relief; like a teddy bear to calm a crying kid.

“What’s up?” Jisoo mumbles.

“Nothing, I just—“

“Hold on, let me just get my headphones.” Jisoo says, followed by a series of background noises. “Okay, game.”

“You’re still at work?” Jinyoung leans over the other side to his bed to check the time, it’s quarter-past eleven. “It’s late.”

“Yeah, it’s late and you’re calling me.” Jisoo says with a soft chuckle. “Kidding. Yes. I’m still at work, doing overtime as usual.”

“But it’s late. Shouldn’t it be better to do work at home instead?” Jinyoung asked. “It’s safe at home.”

If Jisoo would let herself lose, she’d like to believe there’s a tiny bit of care in Jinyoung’s words but she didn’t want to make herself believe that.

“Nah. It’s fine. I’m used to doing overtime anyway. And besides, I’m with the guys, though I can slay the bad guys myself.” Jisoo chuckled.

“You’re with the guys?” Jinyoung echoed.

“Yeah.” Jisoo answered. “Mark, Bam and Youngjae are all here doing overtime too.”

“You don’t mind staying there late at night with them?” Jinyoung asked, trying to sound more curious than worried.

Jisoo looks around—Mark, Bambam and Youngjae are all preoccupied with their works. “Nah. We even sleep over here at HQ sometimes.”

“You what?” Jinyoung asks in disbelief.

“What?” Jisoo asks, eyes wide and feeling accused. “You think something _weird_ will happen to me with these dorks? Ew! That’s like incest!”

Jinyoung blushed, embarrassed.

“Hey, who are you talking to?” Mark asks, eyes fixed on his computer screen.

“I didn’t know you have friends.” Bambam teased.

“It’s late.” Youngjae says, shooting Jisoo a suggestive look. “Is that a guy?”

“Aye! You have a new guy?” Bambam added. “Give it to me, give to me! Let me talk to him!”

“Oh my gosh, shut up, guys!” Jisoo says as she stands up, leaving her station and walking to the brain room.

“Heard that?” Jisoo says as she shuts the brain room’s door behind her. “They’re just a bunch of dorks.”

Jinyoung laughs lightly. “Why didn’t you just tell them you’re talking to your boyfriend?”

Jisoo blushed, totally flustered, making her unable to think of any witty response.

“Jisoo? Still there?” Jinyoung asked, worried that he offended Jisoo with what he said.

“Y-yeah. Still here.” Jisoo stuttered, assuring Jinyoung.

“Oh, hey, I have some good news!” Jisoo said, shifting the topic.

“What is it?” Jinyoung asked, a little bit excited.

“Jinji’s Instragam hit a million followers!” Jisoo said.

“A million followers? Whoa. We’ve been fooling that much people?” Jinyoung mumbles making Jisoo burst into laughter.

“Hey, you make it sound like a bad thing.” Jisoo says. “Let’s just say we’re making a million people happy—sounds better, right?”

Jinyoung chuckled. Jisoo couldn’t see it but she hopes the crinkle in his eyes are showing and he won’t bother covering his face.

“Whatever you say.” Jinyoung says.

“Jaebum’s treating us for drinks on Friday. Didn’t he tell you?” Jisoo asked.

Jinyoung shakes his head. “No. I’m probably not invited.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Jisoo says. “You’re part of the series, of course you should be there!”

“Yeah, doesn’t change the fact that he didn’t invite me.” Jinyoung said, just messing with Jisoo.

“Then you’ll be my plus one.” Jisoo said. “You’re my boyfriend, right?”

Jinyoung breaks into a wide grin and he’s just thankful Jisoo can’t see him right now.

 

***

 

It’s a bright and sunny day, but the wind breeze is cool enough as the autumn officially starts. In this beautiful day, it’s as if nothing could go wrong. Everyone seems to be on a good mood.

Except Jisoo.

It’s not even past three in the afternoon but Jisoo is already so exhausted. They are in the middle of preparation for Fusion’s new season with two weeks before its premier but their asshole Executive Producer just dropped a bomb this morning and told her and Lisa that they should have their preproduction on Monday instead of the scheduled Friday meeting.

Jisoo was furious but she never let challenges defeat her. So after nagging Dohwan about how he can’t just simply mess up her timelines and even threatening him that she will not premiere—which, of course, she can’t afford to actually do—she and Lisa immediately divided the tasks they need to finish today; from the filming permits, supplier contracts and schedules, they aim get it all done by seven tonight.

And if it’s not the worst day yet, Jisoo’s car broke down while she’s on her way to bring a proposal to one of their guests for the new season. So now, she’s going from one supplier to another by feet.

She just finished briefing her baking supplier and is on her way to her fruits supplier to bring the new contract and brief them about the needs of the second plus two more places when she decided to take a break at the shed, just by the bus stop.

She sighs as she leans her back on the bench. She has one of her hand fanning herself and the other covering her face from the sun.

“Jisoo?”

Jisoo just moved to stretch her tired legs and massages it with the hand she used to fan herself, when she looked up and found Jinyoung in front of her in a bike.

“Oh, hey,” Jisoo greeted tiredly.

“Are you okay?” Jinyoung says, getting off his bike and walking over her.

Jisoo sighed heavily. “No.”

Jinyoung chuckled. He is now standing right in front of Jisoo, shielding her from the blinding rays of the sun.

“What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be working?” Jinyoung asked.

“I am working!” Jisoo said, her voice is a little bit too loud making it obvious how stressed and tired she is right now.

“Tough day already?” Jinyoung asked. “What’s up?”

“Well, for one, my boss decided to be an asshole again.” Jisoo replied. “I have about a hundred errands to do—on a very skinny timeline—and my fucking car gave up on me. Now I have about three places to go to which are so far from each other. I have this presentation I have yet to finish and it’s fucking Friday, I just want to have a good weekend but I don't know if I—“

“Hop in.” Jinyoung says as he gets on his bike.

“Huh?” Jisoo mumbles.

“I’ll give you a ride for your errands today.” Jinyoung said.

“I have _a lot_ of them. Don't you have other things to do?” Jisoo asked.

Jinyoung shakes his head. “But I do now.”

Jisoo sighed, smiling, before hopping behind Jinyoung.

 

 

“Ah!” Jisoo exclaims after finishing a can of cider in one chug.

Jisoo finished all of her errands and is now in a convenience store, taking a break.

They went from one supplier to another, Jisoo running through the stores and building while Jinyoung waits for her outside, using that time to catch his breathing and drink water. With Jinyoung being her personal ~~bicycle~~ driver, Jisoo finished her errands two hours earlier, giving her more than enough time to wrap up her deck back at the office.

Jinyoung smiles watching Jisoo open another can and immediately taking a sip from it, but didn't finish it one go this time.

“So?” Jinyoung mumbles. “You’re done with everything?”

Jisoo nods. “Just a couple of things more to settle at the office and I’m ready for the weekend!”

“Wait,” Jinyoung says. “You’re still coming to Jaebum’s party, right?”

“Oh, shit, yes.” Jisoo mumbles. She totally forgot that it’s Friday and Jaebum is treating them all for dinner and drinks since Jinji is turning out to be a more successful series than they ought to be with a million—and counting—followers on Instagram. “That’s a good way to welcome the weekend!” Jisoo cheered before drinking her cider.

Jinyoung chuckled. He’s tired. He really is. He spent almost two hours pedaling his bike faster than usual, getting confused over roads and alleys he didn't know existed.

But for that two hours, he also felt free. A lot distracted from thinking and far away from his worries. In that two hours, he’s just with Jisoo, helping her. It wasn't even like she’s actually with him. She has her own thing she’s worrying about, he’s merely in the background, her designated driver, helping her and yet, Jinyoung felt like that past two hours was a lot more meaningful.

“Jisoo,” he called.

“Hm?” Jisoo asked, eyes fixed outside the convenience store, a little girl is playing with a stray cat.

“You can call me too when you need something.” Jinyoung says. “I feel bad troubling every time I needed someone to talk to but you can do the same too. I can help you with stuff too.”

Jisoo’s eyebrow furrow. “Is that what you take those late night calls for? Like a sort of service?”

It’s not like Jisoo was hoping there is something more to their calls than just what it seems but she never thought about it as a service either. She did the calls because she wants to help Jinyoung to get better, to feel better.

No. Scratch that. Jisoo likes the calls because she wants to talk to Jinyoung.

“No, that’s not what I mean.” Jinyoung says. He was just telling her that he’s there for her too as much as she is, how did she end up with that

Jisoo was about to say something when her phone started ringing. She raised her finger telling Jinyoung to wait as she takes her phone from her back pocket.

“Jisoo!” Jennie cries as soon as Jisoo answered the call.

“Jennie?” Jisoo says, taking the phone off her ear just to check if it’s really Jennie. “What happened?”

“Jaebum.” Jennie answered. “He’s here.”

Jisoo’s eyes widen in shock and worry. “What? Where? In your house?”

“No!” Jennie replied. “Here at the gallery.”

“Gallery? _The_ gallery?” Jisoo freaks out after realizing where Jennie is. “What are you doing there?”

“I, uh, went out for a walk?” Jennie stuttered then groaned after failing to lie to her best friend. “I just missed the place, okay? And when you brought it up the other day, I felt like I should drop by. I didn’t know Jaebum is going to be here too!”

“What is he even doing there? He’s supposed to be at work!” Jisoo says.

“I don’t know!” Jennie freaks out. “I need to get out of here, Jisoo.”

“Then, leave. I’m pretty sure you can sneak out without Jaebum seeing you.” Jisoo suggests.

“He’s blocking the fucking way!” Jennie said.

Jisoo could only frown at the mess. She’d like to tell Jennie to just suck it up and talk to him. This is probably the heavens way of telling them both that it’s about damn time they face each other. But she knows it’s going to be too messy.

Jinyoung then gently taps Jisoo shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

Jisoo turned to him, sighing. “Jennie and Jaebum are both at the gallery.”

“What?” Jinyoung asks in disbelief. “They saw each other?”

“Jisoo? Who are you talking to?” Jennie asks sternly just as Jisoo answers Jinyoung with a shake of her head.

“And they can’t see each other. At least not now.” Jisoo told Jinyoung before turning back to her phone to answer Jennie. “Jinyoung. He’s with me right now. He knows you’re here, remember?”

“Wait, he might sell me out!” Jennie says.

Jisoo rolls her eyes. “He has known for a couple of weeks and, look, you’re closer than selling yourself out than Jinyoung doing that.”

Jennie sighed.

“I can call Jaebum.” Jinyoung mumbles.

Jisoo turned to him, giving him a confused look.

“I mean, I’ll call him stall him." Jinyoung explained.

Jisoo thought about for a moment before giving him a nod of approval.

Jinyoung then took his phone, quickly dialing Jaebum’s number.

“Jisoo? What am I gonna do?” Jennie asked, as if Jisoo has forgotten what’s going on.

“Jinyoung is on the phone with Jaebum right now. He’s going to try to distract him so you can sneak out.” Jisoo told Jennie.

Jisoo and Jennie stay quiet for a while, anxiously waiting for Jinyoung to get off the phone and for Jaebum to unblock the way respectively.

After what seems like an hour of waiting, Jinyoung turns to Jisoo with a grin and she heard Jennie silently cheering on the other line.

“He’s gone! Oh my gosh.” Jennie says. “I’m leaving now before he changes his mind. Tell Jinyoung I owe him! Thank you, love birds!”

Before Jisoo could protest, Jennie has already hang-up.

“What did you tell him?” Jisoo asked, putting down her phone.

Jinyoung’s grin turn wider. “I told him I saw some cat who looks exactly like Nora strolling on the street.”

“You’re so mean!” Jisoo says but couldn’t help laughing herself. “He’s going to freak out.”

The laughter dies down soon. The two of them suddenly realizing where they left off a while ago.

“I didn’t mean it that way.” Jinyoung breaks the silence.

Jisoo didn’t say a thing, letting him continue.

“I’m just...” Jinyoung trails off, not really having any idea how to continue. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m here for you too. That’s all.”

 

 

“I saw her.”

Jaebum practically cornered Jisoo when the latter arrived at the bar.

“H-huh? Who?” Jisoo stutters.

Jaebum stared at her dead in the eye and Jisoo swears if stares could kill, she’s fighting for her life right now.

“Jennie.” Jaebum finally said. “I saw her at the gallery.”

“W-what? Jennie is in Milan! What are you talking about? Which gallery?” Jisoo, mustering up all her acting skills, denies.

Jaebum sighed, stepping back, realizing Jisoo will not tell him the truth even if she knows anything.

“Hey, man,” Jinyoung, who was standing beside the two all this time, puts an arm around Jaebum’s shoulder. “Sorry about the sudden call earlier. I realized just now that the cat I saw was way too different from Nora.”

Jisoo sighs heavily in relief as Jinyoung drags Jaebum away, randomly talking about the stray cat he allegedly saw earlier.

“What was that about?” Mark suddenly pops out beside Jisoo making her jump in surprise.

“Geez! Make a sound!” Jisoo exclaimed.

Mark chuckled. “What’s going on with Jaebum?”

“I don’t know. He said he saw Jennie.” Jisoo groaned. “But she’s in Milan! How can that happen, right?”

Jisoo laughed nervously earning a suspicious look from Mark.

“I talked to her.” Mark mumbles.

“You know she’s here?” Jisoo gasped, eyes wide and white in surprise.

Mark smirked. “Now I do.”

Jisoo turned pale. “What?”

“I saw she viewed my story on Instagram so I messaged her.” Mark explained. “That’s it.”

Jisoo looked at him suspiciously. “Dude, that is such a fuckboy move to do.”

Mark blushed, caught off guard. “Hey I don’t make moves on my friends. Especially my friend’s girl.”

Jisoo shrugged.

“And don’t point it at me when you’re the one on the spotlight here.” Mark smirked. “So she’s back, huh?”

Jisoo groaned before putting her finger on her lips, shushing Mark, then dragging him to the other corner of the room.

“She will kill me.” Jisoo groaned.

Mark laughs in excitement.

“Shut up!” Jisoo slaps him on the shoulder. “I swear to heavens if Jaebum finds out because of you, I’m gonna drag your ass when Jennie kills me.”

Mark pursed his lips. “What’s the problem with that? They’re obviously not over each other.”

Jisoo sighed. “I know.”

“THE PARTY IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!”

Jisoo, Mark and everyone else in the room almost jumped in their places in surprise when the door swings open—Bambam, being the last person to leave the office because it was a hell Friday for everyone, makes a grand entrance.

Bambam’s arrival, even though a bit late at nine, was when the party officially started. No one literally cared about Jaebum’s bill—they ordered beer, cocktails, and a lot of food. The most popular songs from their generation are blasting through the speakers in their private room.

Once in a while, the younger trio—Bambam, Lisa and Rosé—would go out and dance with the crowd but it’s way more fun with their friends so they end up back at their private room.

Jaebum seemed to have forgotten about seeing Jennie with both Mark and Jinyoung distracting him from the thoughts or just basically making him drunk. Jisoo, on the other hand, would cling onto the girls just to save herself from spilling anything because alcohol is never on her side in times like this.

“Jinyoung!” Jisoo called from across the table. “Come here.”

Jinyoung did as he’s told and went to sit beside Jisoo.

“What’s up?” He asked.

“I need your help.” Jisoo said.

Jinyoung examined her. “Anything wrong?”

Jisoo shakes her head, slightly making her dizzy.

“I have a feeling, if I didn’t help myself, I’d end up telling Jaebum about Jennie.” Jisoo mumbles in soft, almost voiceless whisper. “I accidentally told Mark about it.”

“What?” Jinyoung said.

“It’s an accident! That sly asshole tricked me.” Jisoo explained.

Jinyoung, surprised with the sudden vulgarity, turned to Jisoo and that’s when he found out, by how red her cheeks are and how her eyes are basically shut, that she’s way too drunk and by the looks of it, she would end up spilling everyone else’s secrets if things get out of hand.

“Do you want to rest a bit? Or might as well just go home. You look pretty drunk.” Jinyoung suggested in worry.

“No! I’m not drunk!” Jisoo dramatically denied as she stands up, earning everyone’s attention. “Who said I’m drunk? I’m just getting started!”

“Everyone!” Jisoo called.

“This guy,” Jisoo said pointing to Jinyoung. “Just said I’m drunk. Pft. Should we show them what drunk looks like?”

Everyone else, who’s obviously just as drunk as Jisoo, cheered as Jisoo leaned in the table, lining up beer mugs as she, from what it looks like, prepares soju bombs.

Youngjae, the only person who seems sober to think, moved closer to Jinyoung and leaned in to whisper.

“Keep an eye on her. She’s about two shots away from being a total wreck.” Youngjae warned. “A few more shots and you’ll see drunk Jisoo. Stay tuned.”

Youngjae chuckles before leaning in and taking one of the soju bombs that Jisoo made, cheering with his co-workers.

Jinyoung leans back to the couch, mentally preparing himself on what’s about to happen. Drinking was sure fun in New York but he’s only realizing now that getting wasted in Seoul is whole lot better.

 

 

Jinyoung shouldn’t care. It’s Friday and they are all drinking, of course, some of them should get drunk and wasted—even Jisoo, his virtual girlfriend. So what, if she gets super drunk and wasted that she ends up spilling the truth about Jennie? Why would he even care? That’s his best friend’s love story not his and, in fact, it’s about damn time they skip the drama and just face whatever shit they have to face.

But there’s something about Jisoo telling him to make sure she shuts her mouth, Youngjae’s warning and the sight of Jisoo dancing in the middle of the room like a crazy college girl that makes Jinyoung worry.

He just spent the past hour watching Jisoo drink can after can; shot after shot and cleaning up the spills and mess she makes—she’s way too intoxicated to care.

It isn’t just about her accidentally spilling the beans now but just about her overall. She is way too drunk that Jinyoung is worried she’s going to pass out, hit her head somewhere and God knows what else could happen when she’s drunk.

Jinyoung couldn’t help but get worried but at the same time, she’s looking like she’s enjoying this. A little bit too much but it seems like she’s has been too stressed over work that she’s doing the most now that she has the time to let herself lose.

She, Lisa and Rosé are jumping around hand in hand while some trot song is blasting in the speakers when their feet got entangled or something resulting for Jisoo to fall on the ground.

Jinyoung immediately got to his feet, ready to sprint to Jisoo, when she started laughing; way too hard and—though Jinyoung wouldn’t admit—cute that Jinyoung felt like he melted on his place and the worry just all melted away too.

She then stood up and walked back to the table, looking like she’s about to make another batch of soju bombs. Jinyoung then walks to her too, ready to drag her out of the room to stop her from drinking when Jaebum does it instead.

“Hey, go home. You’re too drunk.” Jaebum, who has already sobered up, said.

“I’m not drunk.” Jisoo says, clumsily reaching for the bottle of beer, knocking a few glasses as she does.

“You definitely are.” Jaebum smirks.

“Hey, Jinyoung,” Jaebum turns to Jinyoung. “Bring her home.”

Technically, Jinyoung can’t bring Jisoo home because he doesn’t know where she lives but he still walked to the two, softly taking Jisoo by her arm when he reached them.

“Let’s go, Jisoo.” Jinyoung mumbles.

“I told you I’m not drunk!” Jisoo snatches her arm away from Jinyoung’s grip. “No going home!”

Jinyoung looked at Jaebum with wide eyes, surprised with Jisoo’s strength.

“Hey, Kim Jisoo,” Jaebum says calmly. “Don’t blame me if you get a hell of a hangover tomorrow, okay?”

Jaebum then just gave Jinyoung a shrug, giving up.

Jinyoung looks at him in disbelief. “She’s so drunk.”

“Let her be.” Jaebum says turning his back on the two.

“Hey, Im Jaebum.”

It’s not even a full second after Jaebum turned his back when Jisoo called him.

Jaebum just smirked but didn’t turn around.

“Im Jaebum,” Jisoo repeated, picking up a chopstick and pointing it at Jaebum. “Do you know how you’re making us all suffer with your whiny ass?”

“What?” Jaebum immediately turns around, his eyebrows meeting.

“Your whiny ass!” Jisoo repeats, a bit louder for everyone to hear. “It’s affecting your work, you know?”

“What are you talking about?” Jaebum asks, trying to gather all his patience.

Jinyoung held Jisoo’s arm again. “Come on now, it’s time to go, Jisoo. Time for sleep.”

“Actually, it’s the same for the both of you.” Jisoo continues, ignoring Jinyoung. “You’re both letting it affect your work.”

“And it’s not just work!” Jisoo says, putting down the chopstick, creating a loud sound. By this time, she already has everyone’s last inch of soberness.

Jinyoung pulled Jisoo closer.

“Hey, stop it.” Jinyoung whispered. “You might say something, shh, let’s go.”

It’s like Jisoo didn’t hear anything, moving away from Jinyoung. “You’re affecting us, your friends, too! Do you know how hard it is for me to get stuck between the two of you? It’s so damn tiring! It’s so obvious that you still have feelings for each other. Heck, it’s obvious you didn’t even try forgetting one another. Why don’t you just get your shit together?”

“Jisoo,” Lisa is standing beside her now, holding her arm. “What are you talking about? You’re so drunk.”

“Jennie and Jaebum, duh!” Jisoo says. “Who else?”

By this time, Mark and Youngjae are also on their feet, ready to carry Jisoo out of the room but she’s far from being done.

“They need to talk for fuck’s sake!” Jisoo said. “You know what, call her now. Like, right now.”

Jisoo then takes her phone from her pocket.

“Oh, no, no. You can’t do that.” Jinyoung said, stopping her but she is too slick. She was able to get her phone with no problem, like she’s not drunk.

“Call her now? From Milan?” Bambam mumbles.

“Milan?” Jisoo scoffed as she dials on her phone. “Who says she’s still in Milan? Jennie has been in Seo—“

Jisoo was interrupted by a pair of soft plump lips.

Jisoo was drunk. She definitely was but somehow, all the alcohol in her body left when she realized whose lips it was—it’s Jinyoung’s lips.

Jinyoung is kissing her.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cue in cliche kdrama closing credits* lmao here I go again with my cliffhangers ^^
> 
> I know, I know, I've used the getting drunk scheme as a plot device a lot of times now and it's getting a bit old but that's a classic! what is a good story without someone getting drunk and messing things up? lol Please don't hate me much so much for this dkddkdkdd >.< Leave some comment or drop by my twitter/cc and tell me what you think about this chapter. I'd love to hear your insights! hehe 
> 
> Thank you! <3
> 
> PS. Cigarette smoking is bad for your health, so do it moderately. Also, Jaebum being a smoker in this fic is not, in any way, inspired by real life events (I have written that part a few days before stan twt went gaga over the 'allegedly' vape seen on his backpack.) I am not at all glorifying the act of smoking but I wanted the characters to be real and human, hence the imperfections. So I hope you look into the character and Jaebum irl (if the vape thing is really real) as human too and that he is grown ass man who makes his own decisions! *winks*


	6. Crossover

The best way to shut a girl up—kiss her.

Jinyoung doesn't know what kind of bullshit that is and where the fuck did he hear that but it seems like that’s the _only_ thing that he can do to stop Jisoo from spilling more beans and creating more ruckus.

Because desperate times calls for desperate measures and Jinyoung is a little bit drunk, he pulled Jisoo closer to him, knocking a few bottles on the table and making her drop her phone, then sealed her lips with a kiss.

There was a brief moment before Jisoo’s sleepy eyes shot wide open, realizing what is going on. Finally, she’s sober.

Jisoo felt her cheeks burn, her head aches and the room suddenly felt like it’s spinning. It’s finally hitting her that she is so fucking drunk. She’s dizzy and feels like throwing up but feeling Jinyoung’s warm lips on hers makes her realize that _this_ shouldn't be happening.

Jisoo immediately pushed Jinyoung away.

Jinyoung is looking at her eyes, checking if she’s really sober. A faint smile is growing on his face when he noticed that Jisoo is indeed in the _better_ state of mind this time.

But it looks like Jisoo has other things in mind because, before Jinyoung can even breathe a sigh of relief, Jisoo’s palm came flying to his cheek, slapping him hard and loud.

The next thing he knew, Jisoo is walking past him, straight to the door and slamming it hard as she leaves.

Jinyoung turned to his friends, everyone is just as confused—if not, way more confused—than him; except Mark who, with the tiniest hint of what’s going on, is just sitting in the corner with his legs crossed, shaking his head.

Jinyoung didn't know what to do—which mess to fix. Well, only one of these messes is his and that’s what he’s going to fix.

He walked out the door, onto the empty hallway separating the private rooms from the noisy dance floor, looking for Jisoo. He was about to give up—the hallway is _almost_ empty—when he noticed she’s just sitting on the floor, a few steps away from the door.

“What the fuck was that?” Jisoo cries just as Jinyoung turns to her. “Why did you do that?”

“I was just trying to help you shut up.” Jinyoung explains, walking to her.

“You could’ve dragged me out of the room.” Jisoo said, turning to Jinyoung who took a step back in fear of her sharp stare.

“I’ve been doing that but you were unbelievably strong when you’re drunk.” Jinyoung said. “It’s just a kiss.”

Not that she puts more meaning to it, but Jisoo is a tiny bit hurt and offended, that it’s _just_ a kiss for Jinyoung.

She groaned. “But really, kissing me in front of everyone? You think that’s a good idea?”

“Would you want it better if I kissed you in _private_?” Jinyoung mumbles.

“Shut up! That’s not what I mean!” Jisoo roared.

“I know, I know and I’m sorry. I couldn't think of anything and I panicked, I guess.” Jinyoung chuckled, sitting down beside her. “But hey, it was effective. I was actually able to stop you from spilling the beans.”

Jisoo sighed heavily then she suddenly remembers a slightly important detail.

“My phone.” Jisoo mumbles, mostly just to herself.

“Huh?” Jinyoung asked.

“My phone. The call got in. Fuck.” Jisoo exclaims as she quickly gets to her feet, walking back to the room. “Jennie answered the damn call.”

“What?” Jinyoung asked, sounding too exhausted. He sighed heavily before getting to his feet too and follows Jisoo back to the room.

They were just a split second away from each other and when they got back in, all eyes dramatically turned to them as the door shuts behind Jinyoung. Jisoo is panting—not because of exhaustion, but because of the extreme anxiety she’s feeling right now.

Lisa is still at the exact same spot where she and Jisoo were a while ago, Rosé is standing beside her now, Jisoo’s phone on her ear. Bambam and Youngjae are behind the two girls, as if eavesdropping.

Mark has left his cool stance where he was a while ago. He is standing beside Jaebum right now, looking a little bit more tensed than usual, his hand firmly grabbing Jaebum’s arm.

The sight of Jaebum is giving Jisoo chills all over her body. He’s still standing on the same spot where he was when she started ranting and pointing at him but this time, he has a cold piercing stare in his eyes.

She didn't know what the hell happened in the past minute that they were out but she’s glad she wasn't there to witness it.

Jaebum calmly, but strongly, moved his arm from Mark’s grip to reach for a half-full mug of beer in front of him. He drank it all in one chug before walking to Jisoo and Jinyoung’s direction.

Jisoo is damn scared. She feels like her knees are about to give up on her but she’s trying her best to stand firm.

Jaebum stopped in front of her, just examining her for what feels like forever. Jisoo feels bad. She’s embarrassed for the things she said in front of Jaebum a while ago but most of all she feels awful lying to one of her best friends. She has seen him suffer. Heck, she sees it everyday with her two eyes and yet, she didn't do a damn thing when she can do _something_ to help them.

She looks away and it took another brief moment before Jaebum turns away and walks to the door. He exits the room with little to no sounds at all and way too calmly than expected which makes all of them more nervous.

“I can’t believe this happen while I’m sober.” Bambam mumbles.

 

 

“You know what, pullover. I’m going home. Jennie’s gonna kill me.” Jisoo says.

They settled their mess in the bar—Jaebum wasn’t much of an asshole and paid the bill before leaving them—and are now on Lisa’s car, on their way to Jennie’s.

“Calm down, Jisoo.” Lisa said. “We already talked to Jennie and we said you’re so drunk.”

“Wait, so how did Jaebum know?” Jisoo said. “Did they talk?”

Rosé groaned. “As if they would. But you left your phone on speaker mode so we all heard when Jennie said _Jisoo? What’s up? Please tell me Jaebum didn’t mentioned seeing me at the gallery_.” She explained while perfectly imitating Jennie. “So, she basically sold herself out.”

Jisoo sighed. “This is a big mess now. Do I have to act like I’m still drunk? So she won’t hit me?”

Lisa chuckled. “Just let her be. And hey, you hid the truth from us too, we should be angry too but we’re cool about it.”

“I should just act drunk. Ugh, why did I sober up so quickly?” Jisoo groaned.

“Because of the kiss.” Rosé suggestively looks at Jisoo as she leans between the driver’s and passenger’s seat. “What was that for?”

Jisoo rolled her eyes turning from the passenger’s seat window to Rosé.

“Really? You just found out that your friend who’s supposed to be in Milan is back in Seoul for months and you’re asking me about that damn kiss?” Jisoo said.

Rosé shrugged. “Well, Jennie already told us stuff about that and we have the rest of the night to ask her so I’m going to ask you about the kiss now.”

Jisoo sighed. “It’s nothing. He obviously did that to shut me up—stop me from telling Jaebum the truth—which still failed.”

“Wait,” Lisa mumbles slightly turning to Jisoo. “Jinyoung knows? And we don’t?”

Jisoo looked away, avoiding eye contact. “He kinda caught me talking to myself so I had to tell him.”

Lisa and Rosé looked at her suspiciously.

“What?” Jisoo mumbles, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, just kill me.”

They arrived at Jennie’s house shortly after. Her mother, despite the late notice and visit, were waiting for them and even prepared hangover cure for them.

They had a brief talk before Jennie came out of the room and then, suddenly, they were squealing and laughing. Lisa and Rosé took turns scolding Jennie for not telling them she’s back and keeping it as a secret. In little over a minute of catching up, the three of them are already crying while Jisoo looks at them with wide, confused eyes.

“Are you seriously crying?” Jisoo says, looking at her friends with judgment. “I am your best friend and you broke into my house to say you’re back.”

“Hey, shut up. I’m mad at you.” Jennie said.

Jisoo opened her mouth as if to protest but she realized she doesn’t really have any alibi so she just shut her mouth as told.

They spent the rest of the night at Jennie’s room catching up—Jennie scolding Jisoo; Jisoo trying to save her face but to no use; Lisa and Rosé scolding Jennie again for avoiding them—for about two hours, there was nonstop talking, bickering and laughing.

“You’ve been here for almost three months and your agency hasn't dragged you back to Milan yet?” Rosé asked, reaching for chips from Jisoo.

Jisoo handed her the bag of chips. “Yeah. It’s impossible not to find you in the only place you’re expected to be.”

“Maybe they’re not looking for you.” Lisa mumbles.

Rosé and Jisoo turned to Lisa in question.

“I mean, if I’m looking for someone, the first place I’ll go to is her house.” Lisa explained.

The three of them then turned to Jennie, seeking clarification.

Jennie sighed. “I don’t know. I’m just glad I’m not there anymore.”

 

 

It’s quarter past three in the morning, it’s been a couple of hours since the girls got tired from talking and realized it’s time for sleep. They are on Jennie’s room, lying down on her carpeted floor because the four of them won’t fit on the bed.

Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa are all asleep but Jisoo is still wide awake, staring blankly at Jennie’s pink ceiling. She’s thinking, deep as usual, trying to let all the things that happened today sink in.

 _It’s just a kiss_. That’s what she has been trying to tell herself. It’s nothing but a kiss to make her shut up—a tactical move. Jinyoung told it himself, she shouldn’t let it bother her; it’s not like that’s her first kiss or something. People kiss with no strings attached anyways, it’s 2018—it shouldn’t be a big deal.

Jisoo knows all of that but she just can’t help but let it bother her. For one, she’s annoyed by it. Jinyoung stole a kiss, whether it means anything or it’s simply just a desperate move to shut her up, it’s still a stolen kiss and it’s annoying her so much. And all of her friends saw it! It’s embarrassing. She can already hear Bambam and Mark teasing her over that damn kiss and her blood is boiling in anger.

This is all Jinyoung’s fault. Why did he even think it was a good idea? He could’ve just dragged her out of the room or splashed her with water—she wouldn’t care. But a kiss? A damn kiss with everyone seeing?

Then all of a sudden, Jisoo remembers how soft his lips were. She remembers the faint smell of alcohol mixed with his perfume and the taste of beer from his lips brushing at hers. For a second, she was wondering if he has his eyes closed or if she should’ve closed her eyes before she shakes those thoughts away.

As if on cue, her phone started ringing, making her jump in surprise. She quietly got up from the floor, afraid to wake up the others, as she takes the phone from her pocket and walks to the other side of the bed.

It’s three in the morning and she shouldn’t be surprised but she still felt a slight jump in her chest when she read Jinyoung’s name in the caller ID.

She thought about it for while. Thinking if she should answer the call or not but her finger seems to know it better, sliding on her phone before she can decide.

“Hey,” Jinyoung immediately greets as soon as Jisoo takes the call.

Jisoo took a while before answering. “Hey.”

“I’m sorry.” Jinyoung sighed softly, the sound of his breath is sending Jisoo chills. “I was drunk and I wasn’t thinking and even my apology was an ass. I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

Jisoo stayed mummed as she sits on the floor, leaning her back on the bed.

“I’m really sorry.” Jinyoung repeated. “I thought you wouldn’t answer my call.”

Jisoo smirked. “You thought the calls would stop after you mess up? Don’t worry I’m a professional.”

Jisoo heard Jinyoung took another breath from the other line.

“About that,” Jinyoung calmly said. “I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean it to sound that way.”

Jinyoung paused, thinking hard how to continue.

“I’m just really grateful for you.” Jinyoung continued. “And I just wanted to let you know you can count on me too. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

Jisoo feels guilty. She was a bit too emotional earlier thus she was easily offended—that and because she has a tiny bit of fear inside her that tells her Jinyoung is just using her to feel better; to make himself occupied on the sleepless nights when she knows she’s just hoping there could be more.

Jisoo sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m just stressed, I think.”

Jinyoung smiled in the darkness in his room. “How is it going with Jennie?”

“Well, she took it surprisingly better than expected.” Jisoo replied. “Probably because she’s too excited to talk to Lisa and Rosé that she let me off. How about Jaebum? Have you talked to him?”

Jinyoung shook his head as if Jisoo could see him. “Nah. I tried calling him but he wasn’t answering. I think he needs more time.”

“Yeah, I think so too.” Jisoo agreed.

“You think they’ll talk now?” Jinyoung asked, wanting to make he conversation last longer.

“I hope so but I highly doubt it.” Jisoo chuckled dryly. “They’re both stubborn.”

Silence came after.

It was probably due to the lack of topics; or they got stuck in the awkwardness of not knowing what to stay and not wanting to end the call; or they’re just both too tired to say anything, even to say goodbye.

Jisoo kept the phone on her ear as she slides down, stretching her legs on the floor and throwing her head down, lying on the edge of the bed. Jinyoung quietly listens to the rustles she made on the other line, not knowing what to say.

About a minute or two passed by, none of them still cared to say anything. There was nothing but silence except their soft breathing and the rustles of their beds.

“You should go to sleep.” Jinyoung says, finally breaking the silence.

“Yeah, you too.” Jisoo replied after taking a deep breath.

“Thanks a lot for today, for everything.” Jisoo said after a few moments, when neither of them made an effort to hang up. That brief moment made her realize she actually has a lot to thank for—a lot more than taking offense in what Jinyoung did and said. “And sorry. For being drunk too. God, I was embarrassing.”

“It’s okay.” Jinyoung assures with a soft chuckle. “I had fun…with everything.”

They may sound tired and sleepy but Jisoo heard it loud and clear when Jinyoung said _everything_ , she just doesn't know what it supposed to mean. She is dying of curiosity but she didn't bother asking what he meant so she just let that mumble float in the air.

“Good night.” Jisoo finally says, this time, ready to hang up and submit herself to slumber.

“Good night.” Jinyoung replied. His voice was too soft in Jisoo’s ear she felt like it’s a lullaby making her sleepier.

Jisoo was the first one to hang up. She yawns, stretching her arms up as she moves her phone away from her ear.

“Who were you talking to?”

Jisoo jumped in surprise, dropping her phone, when Lisa suddenly appears beside her—crawling from the other side of the bed.

“Lisa!” Jisoo cried softly. “You scared me.”

“Says the one sneaking for a phone call at three in the morning.” Lisa says as she sits beside Jisoo, facing her, crossing her legs. “Who was that?”

“N-no one.” Jisoo stutters, looking away and folding her legs, pulling them on her chest.

“So, you’re talking to yourself? Now that’s scarier.” Lisa said.

Jisoo rolls her eyes. “No. I wasn't talking to myself.”

Jisoo looked at Lisa, internally debating if she should tell her the truth or not and the younger’s sparkling eyes tells Jisoo she should.

Jisoo sighed. “It’s Jinyoung. He was jus—“

“Oh my gosh!” Lisa squealed. “Jinyou—“

“Sshhh!” Jisoo shushed Lisa by lightly throwing a pillow at her. “Quiet! You’ll wake them up.”

Lisa giggles softly as she takes the pillow and hugs it tight while giving Jisoo a teasing look.

Jisoo rolls her eyes again. “He was just apologizing for what happened.”

“He could’ve just sent a text. Or called you in the morning, when the sun is up.” Lisa teases. “Not at three in the morning.”

Jisoo shrugged, looking away. “His conscience is keeping him up, I guess?”

 

***

 

“Sorry. I’m sorry. Sorry!” Jisoo repeats—for God knows how many times already—as she follows Jaebum from the pantry as he prepares his morning coffee to his trip back to his table.

Jaebum, just like every time he got into an argument with Jennie before, came to work extra early that day—practically opening the HQ himself. Jisoo knows that much so she went a little bit earlier too to talk to her friend.

She has been following Jaebum around for the past twenty minutes, apologizing, basically just demanding attention but Jaebum is so good at ignoring her.

Jisoo glances at her watch just as she stops by Jaebum’s table. It’s quarter before ten, people are just starting to get in to work, and she has about fifteen minutes before her preproduction meeting for Fusion; meaning, she has about ten minutes to wrap things up with Jaebum.

“Hey, look, it’s not like it was my decision not to tell you.” Jisoo says, leaning onto Jaebum’s table. “But, Jennie needed some time. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to lie.”

“You apologize to people you hurt.” Jaebum has his eyes fixed on his desktop monitor as he speaks before turning to Jisoo for the first time this morning and giving her a faint smile. “You didn’t hurt me so no need for an apology.”

“Jaebum,” Jisoo whines. “Come on. Now that you know she’s back, maybe you can talk to her? Fix things?”

“There’s nothing to fix.” Jaebum replied.

Jisoo sighed. “You two—you’re stubborn as always.”

“You know what she told me after all the shit that happened the other night?” Jisoo says crossing her arms on her chest. “She was like _so he’s back into smoking huh_?” Jisoo perfectly imitates Jennie. “She was scolding me for not stopping you! Like, why would I do that? That’s her job!”

Jaebum remains unfazed, his eyes are still on the monitor.

“Jaebum, please.” Jisoo pleaded. “You know this isn’t good for either of you.“

There was a brief moment of silence before Jaebum takes a deep breath and turns to Jisoo, giving her a weak smile.

Mark and Bambam walked in, knowing exactly what’s going on so they just walked past the two without saying a word, straight to their stations and joining Youngjae as he quietly watch the two.

Jisoo looked at Jaebum with a frown, waiting for his response.

“Sorry.” Jaebum mumbles as he reaches for Jisoo’s head and pats it gently. “Sorry for dragging you into this mess. But if she doesn’t want to talk to me, I’m not going to force her to.”

Jisoo’s eyebrows furrow. “What? I’m not complaining. I want you two to be happy.”

“Good morning.”

Jisoo and Jaebum were interrupted by a voice familiar to them both but neither of them is expecting—Jinyoung.

“Oh, am I interrupting something?” Jinyoung asked when Jaebum and Jisoo turned to him, Jaebum’s hand still on top of Jisoo’s head, question painted on both their faces.

“What are you doing here?” Jisoo asks, almost in panic, as she leans off of Jaebum’s table and walks to her station where Jinyoung is standing.

“I—I was around the area so I decided to drop by.” Jinyoung stutters, caught off guard with Jisoo’s response as if they didn't spent the previous night on the phone talking about random things. He thought they’re back to normal.

“Your boyfriend is just visiting you, don't be such a snob, Jisoo.” Bambam mumbles, peeking over his station.

“Shut up, Bambam.” When Jisoo turns, not only Bambam is giving her the looks but Youngjae is peeking from his station as well, giving Jisoo a teasing smile. Mark is just shaking his head, smiling, while Jaebum has confusion painted all over his face.

“Shut up, guys.” Jisoo groans before turning to Jinyoung. “See? This is what I’m talking about.”

Jinyoung pursed his lip, suppressing a smile but totally liking the annoyed Jisoo.

“Sorry, I’m late! Dohwan is on his way up, we should get ready, Jisoo.” Lisa says walking inside the HQ panting and giving Jinyoung a look as she walks to her station behind Jaebum’s.

Lisa smiled at Jisoo teasingly to which the latter replied with a groan.

“Not now, Lisa.” Jisoo groaned, gathering her things for the meeting. “Come on.”

Jisoo then shuts her laptop and takes it in her arms. “Can’t talk right now, sorry.” She told Jinyoung before turning her back on him and walking to the conference room, Lisa following behind her.

“You’re leaving your boyfriend just like tha—“

Bambam was interrupted from teasing Jisoo when she slapped him with the folders she’s holding.

“Bring me my tumbler, please.” Jisoo asks after hitting Bambam.

Bambam replied with a chuckle as he stands from his station and walks to Jisoo’s.

“I don't know what’s up with you two but you have to rethink before making it all real.” Bambam told Jinyoung.

Jaebum then hit Bambam’s head with a rolled paper.

“Ow! This is bullying, you guys!” Bambam protested. “This is physical assault.”

“Just go give her that before the tiger arrives.” Jaebum ordered.

As if on cue, Dowhan came inside the HQ with a tall coffee in hand. A few employees, mostly the newbies, greeted him as he enters but Jaebum and the gang remained unfazed on their stations.

Dohwan stops by Jaebum’s station, giving Jinyoung a scrutinizing look before turning to Jaebum and giving him a nod to which Jaebum replied with the same cocky movement.

“Where are Jisoo and Lisa?” Dohwan asked.

“Conference room.” Jaebum coldly replies.

Dohwan took another glance at the group, Youngjae and Bambam both bowing politely when they locked eyes with him but Mark remained unfazed, biting onto his breakfast sandwich nonchalantly.

Dohwan scoffs before turning his back on the group before walking to the conference room.

“Shit that’s the worst elevator ride.” Rosé says as she enters the HQ, just a few steps behind Dohwan.

“You were in the elevator with him?” Youngjae asks with a frown.

Rose nods as she puts down her things on her station beside Bambam’s.

“My condolences.” Bambam mumbles.

“Hey, the tumbler.” Mark reminded Bambam.

“Oh, shit.” Bambam exclaims, quickly grabbing Jisoo’s tumbler and sprinting to the conference room.

“Who was that?” Jinyoung asked Jaebum.

“Our _favorite_ boss.” Jaebum replied, earning a chuckle from Mark, as he stands from his seat and walks past Jinyoung. “Smoke?”

Jinyoung is not a smoker, at least not as a heavy smoker as Jaebum. He smokes occasionally, mostly when someone asked him just like now. So, he nods as he follows Jaebum out of the HQ, straight to the elevator.

They went up to the roof deck, where groups of people hang out to, well, smoke. A bit surprising granted that it’s barely ten in the morning but this building is home for three advertising agencies, two marketing agencies, and two production companies—a flock of stressed employees at ten in the morning is basically a common sight.

Jaebum took his box of cigarettes, taking one stick for him, before handing it Jinyoung and offering him one. Jinyoung didn't hesitate and took it. He waited for Jaebum to finish lighting his before taking his lighter to light his own.

They stayed quiet for a while, watching the calm and polluted sky, giving their fair share on the pollution before Jinyoung breaks the silence.

“I thought you quit?” Jinyoung asks, puffing out the smoke on his opposite side.

“And I thought you don't have time messing around.” Jaebum replied.

“What?” Jinyoung asked. “What are you talking about?”

“What are you doing?” Jaebum asked after taking a drag and puffing it out on the opposite side.

Jinyoung’s reply is an annoyed expression.

“Jisoo.” Jaebum mumbles. “What are you doing _to_ her?”

“What do you mean? I’m not doing anything.” Jinyoung said, patience is running out of him. “I was drunk. I was just trying to help her keep Jennie’s secret but I wasn't thinking so—“

“You knew?” Jaebum asked.

“She accidentally—I accidentally heard her.” Jinyoung admitted.

Jaebum shakes his head as he takes another drag from his cigarette.

Silence came after as they finish their sticks.

Jinyoung feels wrongly accused. What does Jaebum means? What does he think he’s doing? He’s just being a friend, trying to help Jisoo.

Jinyoung wouldn't admit it but the truth is, he just as confused. He doesn't know what he’s doing. There are so many things going on right now that was never in his plans. Taking time off his work, coming back to Seoul, being part of Jinji, meeting Jisoo—everything else don't make sense except that last one.

He doesn't know why, in fact, he doesn't quite like what is going on. But for the first time in quite a long time, he found himself looking forward to _something_. First it was just the filming. He looked forward to shooting their dates for Jinji. In his defense, it’s a good way to keep himself occupied, to distract himself from thinking; even for a while, to forget about _her_.

Then, the calls happened.

At first, Jinyoung admits, that it was nothing but an activity. Like something to keep him awake; to keep him from the bad dreams. But on the third night when he found himself waiting for Jisoo’s call, wondering what story she has prepared for that night, involuntarily replaying her soft laughter in his head, he realized that it isn’t about the calls anymore. It’s _her_ —Jisoo and her hoarse sleepy voice that he’s waiting for.

Suddenly, he found himself looking forward to see _someone_.

“Make up your mind before getting involved.” Jaebum says, throwing the butt of his cigarette in the bin. “I don't want Jisoo to get hurt.”

 

***

 

“Excuse me?” Jisoo asked in utter disbelief.

“I said I don’t like it.” Dohwan replied nonchalantly.

It’s quarter before eight, early for an overtime but too late for a meeting. They are in the conference room, coming back for the third time today after Dohwan rejected Fusion’s pilot episode twice just to reject the third. Jisoo and Lisa just finished pitching their third idea for the pilot, spending the past two hours collecting data and logistics information, just trying to whip up what they can do with the limited time and yet all their efforts are not enough for Dohwan.

“What the hell?” Jisoo couldn’t take it anymore.

Stressed is an understatement. She has her hair in a messy—literally messy—bun; the sleeves of her shirt is too wrinkled from constantly pulling it up; dark circles are pretty much visible in her face because she hasn’t touched up her makeup—she didn’t have any time for bathroom break the whole day because she’s too busy with their presentation.

Lisa steps closer, gently grabbing Jisoo’s arm as if to calm her down.

“What do you mean, Dohwan?” Lisa asks calmly. “This is our third pitch. We’ve been considering all your ideas and inputs. What else do you want to see?”

“It’s just...” Dohwan trails off, as if thinking how to continue. “It’s just not enough.”

“What?” Jisoo says. “You said you want something different, we gave you something different. You said it should be innovative, we came up with something that was never done before. You said we should think of our viewers so considered our viewers. What else is lacking?”

“It lacks emotions, feelings.” Dohwan replied. “I’m looking for something that will make me, as a viewer, get interested. This is your fifth season guys, this isn’t just about the grand premiere. You should tell your viewers what they missed and why they will stick with you for another season. You have to make them feel like yearning—like how one misses home.”

Jisoo sighed heavily. “Just say you don’t want us to air.”

“Jisoo,” Lisa mumbles giving Jisoo a look before turning to Dohwan. “I’m sorry, Dohwan but we’re just frustrated. We’re doing our best.”

Dohwan, ignoring Jisoo, sighs as he gets up from his chair. “You’re too stressed guys. Get some break and get back to me with something you would actually want to air.”

Dohwan then exits the conference room, leaving Lisa and Jisoo alone.

Jisoo takes a deep, frustrated breath as she slumps herself on one of the chairs.

“He’s so annoying!” Jisoo says as she ruffles her hair aggressively. “Can he just admit he’s sabotaging us?”

“What else does he want?” Lisa says. “I’m so drained already.”

They stayed there in silence for a moment, just collecting their last inch of sanity before Jisoo straightens her back.

“Let’s call it a day, Lisa.” Jisoo mumbles. “We had enough stress today. Let’s get some rest.”

Lisa smiles weakly. “Yeah. This is too much for today. Let’s go home.“

“I’ll stay here a bit.” Jisoo says. “Don’t want to join the pool of people in the subway.”

“Oh, yeah, your car isn’t fixed yet. Do you want me to give you a lift?” Lisa offered.

“Nah. I’ll just rest here for a while. Thanks, Lisa.” Jisoo declined.

“You sure?” Lisa asked once again.

Jisoo nodded with a soft smile. “See you tomorrow.”

“Okay. I’ll call you when I thought of something.” Lisa said. “See yah.”

Lisa then gave Jisoo a peck on the head before leaving the conference room.

Jisoo leans back on the reclining chair, letting her head fall down as she shuts her eyes. She took a moment to calm herself before opening her eyes, remembering she can’t waste her time. She has to come up with something. She exits the conference room, gathered her things on her desk, then leaves the HQ.

She put her earphones, blasting her old school playlist for when she needs to think. She let herself got lost in the music, just letting the random ideas flow in her mind as she walks home.

Despite the eagerness to come up with a new idea, Jisoo can’t help but be frustrated over the repeated rejection. She just wants to be alone and maybe cry because of too much frustration but she’s too tired to even submit to tears. So she just walks, her feet have memorized her way home already, mentally cursing herself for not being enough. As usual.

She has it all planned out. The whole season—all ten episodes of it—has been planned and has plotted every single filming schedule on her calendar. Rejecting the premiere means pushing back everything in her calendar.

But what’s more frustrating for her is knowing that she did her best, knowing very well that she did good (at the very least because she wouldn’t admit her work is great) but it’s still not enough for her hard-to-please boss. She has put a lot of effort and dedicated most of her time for Fusion, that’s how much the series means to her. Knowing that her efforts are not enough to make it a good show is draining all her will. What if the series flops because of her? Because she’s not capable enough?

“Jisoo!”

She heard someone call her as she was being dragged. When she turned, she saw Jinyoung with a worried expression, his hand tightly gripping her arm.

“Are you okay?” Jinyoung asked. “You’re too out of focused, you’re crossing the street on a green light.”

“Huh?” Jisoo mumbles as she turns to the highway, the pedestrian light is in bright red and the traffic light is green above them.

“I—ah!” Jisoo just turned to Jinyoung when she felt a strong pain in her stomach. She immediately grabbed his arm for support, her other hand is placed on her stomach. “M-my stomach. Shit. It hurts.”

“What? Are you okay? What happened?” Jinyoung asks, leaning down and grabbing Jisoo in both of her arms. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”

“Fuck. I forgot to eat.” Jisoo replied. She then turned to Jinyoung, giving him a pleading look. “I need to eat, I’m hungry.”

 

 

“Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?” Jinyoung asked, still looking at Jisoo in worry.

“Nah, I’m good.” Jisoo replied. “I just need something to eat. I’m acidic—thanks to never eating my meals on time—so I really get the stomachaches when I forget to eat but I’m feeling better now after the kimbap. But I need more.”

They’re at a Chinese restaurant a few blocks away from the HQ, waiting for their food to arrive.

“Are you sure? You scared me a bit a while ago.” Jinyoung said.

It was a lie if Jisoo says her heart didn’t flutter hearing that Jinyoung is worried about her. In fact, she’s a bit too flustered that she almost missed the fact that Jinyoung was coincidentally there just when Jisoo was about to cross the street.

“Hold on,” Jisoo says. “What are you even doing there?”

“I—uh...” Jinyoung stutters, thinking of a way to say he’s waiting for Jisoo the whole day without sounding weird. “I was following you because you seemed so out of focus.”

“Why didn’t you just call me?” Jisoo asked.

“I did.” Jinyoung replied. “But I told you, you’re out of focus.”

Jisoo looked at him suspiciously.

“Anyway,” Jinyoung asked, obviously changing the topic. “Why didn’t you eat anything the whole day? Tough day at work?”

Changing the topic was successful because Jisoo reacts with a groan. “My boss decided to be an asshole again.”

“What happened?”

“Fusion’s season five is premiering in two weeks, right?” Jisoo started to which Jinyoung nods. “I had everything planned out. I had my preprod scheduled, supposedly, on Wednesday giving me enough time to film at least three episodes if my episodes got approved. My whole timeline is plotted. But my boss decided to move the preprod today that’s why I was so stressed last Friday, right—but hey, I still finished prepping.” Jisoo takes a deep breath before continuing. “But my boss is the biggest asshole. He rejected my premiere episode!”

“The premiere! The first episode!” Jisoo repeated as if Jinyoung doesn’t know what premiere is supposed to mean. “He could’ve rejected any other episode but he really killed the first one! It’s so frustrating!”

Jinyoung noticed the irritation in Jisoo’s voice so he reached the glass and pitcher of water between them, pouring Jisoo a glass.

“So we spent the whole day just coming up and presenting a fresh idea from scratch but he rejected them too. All three of them!” Jisoo continues ranting. “He said he wanted something new, innovative, home-y—he thinks we’re some idea-making machine who can think of something that he will just reject? I’ve got two weeks! Damn, it’s not even two weeks anymore since we already wasted a day—two weeks with no premiere! He’s pushing back my timeline way too much!”

“Here, drink some water and calm down.” Jinyoung says as he pushes the glass of water across Jisoo. “Why don't you just move the other episodes?

Jisoo shakes her head. “Nothing is good for a premier. The first episode has to be special.”

She then takes glass of water with no hesitation then drinks it all up.

“Do you really need that much time? I mean don’t we usually have three days of producing an episode for Jinji before we upload it?” Jinyoung innocently asked.

“That’s Jinji!” Jisoo says as she puts down the glass creating a loud thud. “And it’s not supposed to be like that. Ideally, you should have episodes lined up in post-production before you upload the first one. Jinji is some punishment because our asshole EP hates Jaebum so much that he didn’t give him time for proper production. But, turns out, Jaebum’s an asshole too and works well in the asshole world because, look, Jinji is striving well.”

Jinyoung couldn’t help but laugh, amused at Jisoo’s explicit explanation.

“Hey, don’t laugh.” Jisoo mumbles. “That’s the truth and I don’t work like that. I can’t afford to do that to Fusion. I need everything to be planned out accordingly before I start filming and I can’t do that if I don’t have a decent premiere.”

Jinyoung pursed his lips, stopping the laughter, just as the lady from the restaurant served their orders—jjajangmyeon for Jisoo and jjampong for Jinyoung.

“Is there any way I can help?” Jinyoung asked, taking a pair of chopsticks and handing it to Jisoo.

“Thanks.” Jisoo says as she takes the chopsticks. “I don’t know...pray for me, I guess?”

Jinyoung chuckles, this time, Jisoo laughs with him as she mixes her food.

“Come on, I’m serious.” Jinyoung said. “You don’t know, I can be the key to your successful season premiere.”

Jisoo takes a big bite of her jjajangmyeon, quickly wiping her lips with a tissue after taking the bite, not wanting to have a sauce stain on her face.

She swallows her first bite completely before answering. “All right. Pitch me some ideas.”

This time, Jinyoung was the one immersed in his food, chewing carefully as he thinks.

“Think about traditional Korean and Western cooking combined.” Jisoo aided him.

Jinyoung looks up from his bowl, reaching for the tissue and wiping his mouth.

“Let’s see,” he mumbles. “How about look for a grandma who cooks well, visit her house and cook with her?”

Jisoo smiles slyly. For a second, Jinyoung thought he has hit bingo until she shakes her head.

“Already did that. Season one finale.” Jisoo says.

Jinyoung nods, hiding his disappointment.

“How about,” Jinyoung tries again. “Exchange recipes with a grandma. Some swap stuff.”

But Jisoo has the same reaction when she looks up from her bowl of noodles.

“Season three, episode eight.” Jisoo mumbles.

Jinyoung couldn’t hide his disappointment this time and pouts, making Jisoo giggle.

“Do you know every single episode?” Jinyoung asked with a pout.

“Of course, I should know.” Jisoo replied.

Jinyoung takes another bite. “What does your boss wants again?”

“Something that makes the audience feel at home.” Jisoo answered.

Jinyoung takes time thinking, trying to come up with anything in between bites.

“Oh!” Jinyoung exclaims after a couple of bites. “Don’t we have a D-I-Y dinner date lined up for Jinji?”

Jisoo nods. “What about it?”

“What do you think about using it as a premiere?” Jinyoung suggested. “You could teach me a recipe or something.”

“A crossover with Jinji?” Jisoo clarified.

“Yes! Exactly.” Jinyoung replied. “We can film the actual cooking for Fusion then the B-T-S and us eating the meal for Jinji. What do you think?”

Jisoo leans back on the chair, thinking.

“Hey, admit it, that’s a good idea.” Jinyoung said.

Jisoo drags her eyes to Jinyoung, just staring at him blankly as he waits for her confirmation, before her lips turn into a wide smile.

“See?” Jinyoung gladly mumbles. “I’m the key to your premiere. Literally.”

Jisoo chuckles. “I don't know, I might still need that prayer.”

 

***

 

Jisoo takes a deep breath as she opens the door of the conference room. She and Lisa enters the office together, their presentation for the premiere is ready on their laptops.

They have spent the whole night last night, with barely sleep, preparing their presentation for the new premiere. The logistics weren’t much of a trouble this time since they have decided that, since it’s a D-I-Y dinner date for Jinji, they should film it at home. Or at least in some home setup like the one they have in the studio. But since all their studio setups are booked, they have no other choice but to film in their actual home—Jisoo’s house. Jisoo was against it at first, she never really liked filming at home, but after some pep talks and their time running out, Lisa has convinced Jisoo to use her house for filming.

What was taxing in the preparation is finding the right recipe. They spent hours researching—they didn't want to just make some cliché pasta or no-effort Korean barbecue—they want something that is not too complicated but is still true to it’s Korean roots. It might sound like she’s over-preparing but Jisoo just wants the best for Fusion, she wants the best for it. She has dedicated most of the past three years for Fusion. It’s like her child that is dear to her—it’s basically her life.

Jisoo shuts the door behind her, ready for battle.

 

 

“Do you think they survived?” Bambam asks, gliding his chair away from his desk to the center of their area.

“They’ve been there for almost two hours. I’m worried.” Youngjae says as he moves closer to Bambam too.

“You think it finally got approved?” Bambam asked.

“It should be.” Jaebum replies as he turns his chair to face the two. “I’m already revising my calendar for Jinji. It will be a mess if I had to change it again.”

“Dohwan really has some loose nails in his head.” Bambam said. “I mean, of all the episodes he’s going to reject, he really rejected the premiere?”

“That’s how assholes work.” Mark says turning his chair and facing the three.

“It takes a one to know one, huh?” Jaebum teased.

Mark shrugged. “Only learned it from you.” He said with a wink.

Youngjae and Bambam laughed in chorus at Mark’s snappy remark as the latter grins, successfully annoying Jaebum which, in the end, simply laughed it off too.

“Hey,” Jaebum mumbles. “I need you on Thursday for filming at Jisoo’s place.”

The laughter died down as Mark, Youngjae and Bambam glides back to their places, avoiding the responsibility.

“Hey, you punks,” Jaebum calls, his chin tensed in anger. “You have to help us—“

The four guys were distracted by Jisoo and Lisa coming out of the room with unrecognizable expression in their faces. Dohwan came out just a few seconds after them, going straight to his office.

Jisoo and Lisa walk to their stations, the four guys quickly resuming their places in the huddle.

“How did it go?” Bambam asked.

“Please tell us he had his sanity back.” Youngjae said, clasping his hands together as if to pray.

Jisoo and Lisa exchanged looks before turning back to their friends.

Jisoo smiled widely. “We’re shooting our first crossover on Thursday!”

 

***

 

They have all the ingredients ready and the camera setup are all done; just a few more things to consider with the lighting and they’re ready to film.

“You at least know how to cut vegetables, right?” Jisoo asks as she finds the right light filter.

“I told you, I lived on my own in New York for a couple of years.” Jinyoung answered. “I’ve done it before.”

“Doesn't mean you know how to _properly_ do it.” Jisoo says.

“Hey, hey,” Jaebum says. “Enough with that kids. This is going to be a long night, go with your blockings.”

“We’re not waiting for Lisa?” Jinyoung asks as he walks to Jisoo’s kitchen, Jisoo following him behind.

“Jisoo is sabotaging Jinji and sent her for some errands for her own show.” Jaebum replied as he frames the camera.

“Hey, Lisa is my producer first before Jinji happened.” Jisoo says. “You’re the one sabotaging Fusion for taking both me and Lisa.”

Jaebum stick his tongue out before laughing as he takes the other camera for the other footages.

“Get ready in five. I’m just going to take footages of the house.” Jaebum said walking to Jisoo’s living room.

“Hey! Don't film my stuff!” Jisoo protested.

She was about to sprint to her living room and instruct Jaebum of what he can and cannot film when her phone started ringing. She took it from her back pocket, quickly answering it before checking who the caller is.

“Jisoo? Are you home?”

Jennie’s voice and seeing Jaebum in her house sent chills all over Jisoo’s body.

“H-hey” Jisoo mumbles. “Y-yeah. Why?”

“Great. I’m coming over.” Jennie replied.

“Don’t!” Jisoo exclaimed, earning looks from Jaebum and Jinyoung.

“Huh?” Jennie mumbles.

“I—I mean you can’t.” Jisoo said. “I’m doing something.”

“I brought chicken. You may not stop whatever you’re doing for me but you will never say no to chicken.” Jennie said, chuckling.

“No, no, no.” Jisoo said. “You can’t come here.”

“What? Why? I’m already at the door. Open up, my hands are full.” Jennie orders as Jisoo’s doorbell continuously rings.

“Who’s that?” Jinyoung asked.

“Did Youngjae say yes to the shoot?” Jaebum asked putting down the camera and walking to the door, opening it.

“NO!!!” Jisoo screamed with all her might but it’s too late.

Jaebum has already opened the door and Jennie is a step away from her house.

It was either the world stopped spinning or the time stopped ticking—Jisoo can’t really tell—but she’s sure a minute has barely passed that they all stood there, trying to grasp what’s going on before it all made sense, and yet it feels like forever.

It seems like Jennie has the quickest wit among them all because before any of them can take hold of what’s going on, she has already decided to run away. Technically, she sprinted away, Jisoo didn’t even have the chance to call her or anything. Jennie just left them there not knowing what to do.

Except Jaebum. Jaebum knows exactly what to do and that is running after Jennie, leaving Jisoo and Jinyoung alone in her house.

Jisoo turns to Jinyoung with eyes wide in shock and worry. Jinyoung has the same confusion in his eyes.

“That’s Jaebum’s Jennie?” Jinyoung asked in disbelief. “Jaebum’s Jennie is _the_ Jennie Kim the supermodel?”

For a second, Jisoo was actually distracted from what’s going on by Jinyoung’s sudden realization.

“How can you know Jennie Kim the supermodel but not Jaebum’s Jennie?” Jisoo asked in disbelief.

“Jaebum and I hardly talk about our girlfriends.” Jinyoung admitted. “But Jennie Kim was big in New York when she did NY fashion week—everyone I talked to asked me if I know Jennie Kim just because we’re both Korean and damn, I could have actually known her.”

Jisoo just stared at Jinyoung for a moment, amused at how innocent he looks with the sudden information.

Jisoo walks to her door and shuts it with a sigh.

“Geez, this is so dramatic.” Jisoo says shaking her body as if in disgust. “Destiny had enough of them running away from each other that’s why this happened.”

“You didn’t tell Jennie that Jaebum is here, did you?” Jinyoung accused.

“And compromise filming for Fusion? Why would I do that?” Jisoo says as she walks back to her kitchen.

“Oh, yeah. How are we supposed to film now?” Jinyoung mumbles. “Is filming cancelled?” he asks trying to sound cool about it when he’s actually quite disappointed if filming won’t push through.

“I love them both but I can’t afford my timelines getting pushed back again.” Jisoo rants as she gets her phone and starts dialing some numbers. “We’re getting reinforcements.”

Jinyoung walks to the kitchen top where Jisoo is leaning, anticipating who their reinforcements are.

“Hey, man,” Jisoo mumbles after a few rings. “Are you free right now? Yeah, well, something came up with Jaebum… Yes. I’ll tell you about it when you get here.”

Jinyoung just silently waits as Jisoo talks on the phone.

“Can you ask Bambam or Youngjae to come over too?” Jisoo continued. “I think we’ll actually need more people—oh, you’re together? Great! Please drag them over too… yeah, yeah, I will. Thanks, Mark! We’ll wait for you two.”

“Mark?” Jinyoung confirmed as Jisoo puts her phone down.

Jisoo nods. “I’ve got no one else to bother. I could’ve called Bambam but he’ll ask for a lot of things.” She said rolling her eyes. “But if Mark tells him to come, he won’t have any choice.”

Jinyoung nods. “Okay.”

“Okay.” Jisoo echoes. “So now we wait.”

She then turns around and takes a bottle of wine.

“Wine?” Jisoo asked as she turns to her cupboard, taking two wine glasses.

Jinyoung looked at her in question. “Are we allowed to drink before filming?”

“It’s just wine. A glass will be enough just as we wait.” Jisoo answered, pouring a glass. “I need something to calm me down.”

Jinyoung shrugged. “Okay. But please don’t be drunk. Drunk you is quite a sight but I don’t know if the Jinji fans are ready for that.”

“Shut up.” Jisoo said with an embarrassed smile as she glides the glass over to Jinyoung who takes the glass with a mischievous grin.

 

 

What supposed to be just a glass became two.

It’s been over an hour—Jaebum hasn’t come back, they have no idea what happened with him and Jennie, and there’s still no sign of Mark, Bambam or Youngjae; apparently, they’re some bar miles away from Jisoo’s place and are stuck on traffic. They are already two hours late from their schedule but Jisoo is surprisingly taking it well. The wine is indeed a good idea.

“Do you think they’re done talking?” Jinyoung asked.

They are on Jisoo’s balcony, sitting on the floor as they watch the calm night sky.

Jisoo takes a sip of her wine before shrugging. “But I hope they did talk, at least. God, please let them get their shit together.”

Jinyoung chuckled. “Why are you even stressing yourself? That’s their shit to worry about.”

Jisoo shot Jinyoung a look. “You think I want to be dragged into this? Geez this is too much for me.” She turns back to the sky. “But I know what will make them happy and that’s each other.”

Jinyoung takes a sip of his wine. “What if they don’t love each other anymore? I mean, it’s been two years.”

Jisoo looked at Jinyoung as if she can’t believe what he’s saying. “That’s not even a question. They broke up but it’s not because they stopped loving each other and I don’t think two years of being apart made them love each other less. Especially when neither of them made any effort to move on.”

Jinyoung chuckles, once again amused at how well Jisoo speaks her mind.

“Besides,” Jisoo continues. “Do you really think people fall out of love?”

“Of course!”

“That’s bullshit.”

“If people don’t fall out of love, then no relationship will ever end.”

Jisoo turns to Jinyoung whose eyes are fixed on his wine glass, wondering if she should speak what’s on her mind.

And because she the wine has gotten into her head already, she did. “Then do you think there will come a time that you’ll stop loving _her_?”

Jisoo saw it very clearly, how Jinyoung’s eyes turn dark when she mentioned her.

Jinyoung felt a panging pain in his chest. He looks down from the glass to the ground, uncomfortable with Jisoo suddenly bringing her up, especially on topic about him loving her.

“I’m sorry, I’m just thinking out loud.” Jisoo mumbles.

Jinyoung didn't say anything. He just took a deep breath before taking a gulp from his wine, almost finishing it one go.

Jisoo sighs softly before turning away.

“Do you know why my mom and dad separated?” Jisoo asks but didn’t wait for Jinyoung’s answer before continuing. “One day, they realized that their love for each other is not enough.”

Jinyoung gently turns to Jisoo, confused but eager to listen.

“They married young because they had me.” Jisoo added. “Half of their youth they used trying to make their marriage work and start our family instead of making themselves happy; figure what they really want for themselves.”

“I’m not saying that they didn’t love each other from the start because they did.” Jisoo corrected herself. “I grew up in a loving family. It’s just, eventually, they realized that they love themselves more than they love each other.”

Jisoo takes a sip from her wine, noticing that Jinyoung is staring at her blankly.

She turns to him with an embarrassed smile. “Sorry. Wasn’t I making any sense?”

Jinyoung’s knows he’s supposed to answer but he’s lost in Jisoo’s words that he can’t come up with any reply.

“I guess what I’m trying to say,” Jisoo continues. “Is that falling out is just some shit excuse that people come up with. You can never _unlove_ someone. You can just either get tired of showing or you learn to love something—someone—else more.”

“But if you already love someone” Jisoo points at Jinyoung’s chest. “They will always be there.”

Jisoo finishes the remaining wine in her glass before she stands up and walks back inside her apartment. Jinyoung watches her carefully as she walks straight to her turntable beside her couch.

“I hope you don’t mind me playing some old stuff.” Jisoo mumbles as she randomly takes a vinyl and plays it.

There was a brief moment before the song actually starts. At first, it was just some instrumental—mostly trumpets—but Jinyoung would have been a fool not to know that it’s _La Vie En Rose_. The classic song and the authenticity of the sound of the vinyl make it even more beautiful.

Gently, Jisoo sways her hips with the music as if forgetting she’s not alone in the room and that Jinyoung is watching her every move. She didn’t care, she moves around swaying and twirling to the gentle music all while softly humming to the tune.

Jinyoung stays in his place, as he watches Jisoo’s every move.

It’s probably unfair to think about another girl when he’s with Jisoo but, somehow, he can’t help but think about _her_ too.

His heart still aches thinking about her. There’s not a day that he didn’t think of her. Each day, he longs for her. Every single day he waits for the day that he can see her again. Even though it’s impossible, every night, he prays for the day when he can have her in her arms again.

She was his sole source of happiness. She was his hope; the reason he wakes up in the morning. He has never loved anyone this much. He’s barely surviving now that she’s gone and everyday his heart cries in longing.

Jinyoung never knew what love is until he met her. From the moment they met until her last breath, even though Jinyoung knows he failed to show it some point, he has never stopped loving her. He will always love her and he can’t imagine that his heart will ever stop beating for her.

Maybe people don't really fall out of love because Jinyoung knows, he will never stop loving her.

But as he watches Jisoo gently swaying to the music and her soft hum calms his troubled heart, Jinyoung can’t stop wondering—is it possible for him to love again? More so, will he ever love someone else more?

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By this time, jenbum is obviously more than just a side pairing lol 
> 
> As usual, I'd love to hear what you think about this so please leave some feedback hehe you can reach me on twt or cc!
> 
> Thank you <3


	7. Comfort

They stand frozen in their places, somehow trying to make themselves believe that this is just a dream while silently praying it’s real. They have arrived to that day when they can no longer hide from each other; when there’s nowhere to run. They’re here, finally, standing in front of each other with nothing in between them.

Two years—it’s just a little over two years and, yet, it feels like so much more. Two years of being away. Two years of denial. Two years of making themselves believe they are better without each other.

Two long and dreadful years of missing each other. Two years of yearning. Two years of regretting the decision they’ve made.

Two years of still loving each other.

And today, it seems like the heavens got tired of them fooling and tormenting themselves because here they are in front of each other for the first time in those years, one step away from reuniting.

Jaebum and Jennie stared at each other’s eyes with yearning, with desire. All they want to do at this exact moment is it throw themselves at each other; wrap themselves in a warm and tight embrace as if to catch up on all the moments they’ve missed. The need—the hunger—to hold each other is overwhelmingly evident in their eyes.

But they’re holding back.

They both know what they want to do but neither of them is moving. Both of them are hesitant, afraid that with one brave move, everything will change.

Jennie was the first one to look away, her eyes glistening in tears already. She looked away just as she runs away from Jisoo’s front door. She doesn't know where to go but something is telling her she shouldn't be here.

The sight of Jennie running away sent daggers to Jaebum’s heart. He expected it but that tiny bit of hope in his heart that she’ll finally come back to him broke his heart.

Without thinking, he runs after her. Forgetting that he’s in the middle of filming. It’s not the most important thing for him right now.

“Jennie!” Jaebum calls. Her name seems so foreign yet so familiar in his voice.

He runs after her as she fades into the dark hallway of the apartment complex. Jisoo’s apartment is located in latter part of the hallway so it didn't take long before Jennie ran out of place to run to.

“Jennie.” Jaebum calls, softly this time, just as he catches up on her.

He gently grabs her arm.

“Please.” Jaebum pleaded in a soft whisper.

They stand there in darkness with complete silence for a while, nothing is heard except their heavy breathing as they pant and Jennie’s soft cry.

Jaebum then pulls Jennie closer by her arm, slowly wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. He then rests his chin on her shoulder, sending chills all over Jennie’s body.

“I miss you.” Jaebum whispers.

Jennie has stopped crying now and has regained her composure.

Jaebum straightens his back, gently letting go of Jennie only to turn her to him.

They stared at each other’s eyes. This time, there is less tension. It’s a lot softer, more submissive.

Jaebum held Jennie’s face, caressing her cheek gently. They both felt a different sensation as Jaebum’s fingertips touch Jennie’s cheek. It felt so surreal yet they are both yearning for that touch.

Jaebum slides his hand down her chin as he gently lifts her head. He leans closer, letting their lips meet naturally.

Despite the hunger for each other over the past years, the kiss remains soft and careful. There is both a feeling of yearning and familiarity. It’s a kiss that is warm and comforting—a kiss that makes them feel home.

Finally, after years of waiting and praying, they’re home.

Until Jennie breaks the kiss, pulling Jaebum away, their lips and arms lingering from each other.

“No.” Jennie mumbles as she takes a step back, away from Jaebum.

Jaebum stepped closer, anxiety rises in him when he saw Jennie crying again. He tried to grab Jennie back and fails when she moves away.

“No, Jaebum.” Jennie cries. “We can’t. Sorry.”

Jaebum stood frozen in his place, trying to grasp what he just heard, as Jennie cries harder.

“I’m so sorry.” Jennie repeats as she walks past him, walking as fast as she can to the elevator, repeatedly pressing the buttons to make sure that Jaebum won’t be able to follow her again.

She didn't have to make sure he can’t follow her because Jaebum is stuck in his place—his world crashes around him once again just when he thought they’ve put it back together with that kiss.

 

***

 

Jisoo wakes up with the sound of oil and smell of kimchi fried rice being cooked in her kitchen. She yawns, lazily getting up from her bed. She carelessly fixes her bed then immediately walks out of her room, walking straight to her kitchen where she found two men, on their backs, cooking.

“Hey!” Jisoo scolded surprising Bambam and Mark, who both turn around at the same time.

Mark, Bambam and Youngjae all came last night to help them with filming for Jinji and Fusion. It was pretty late—or rather, early dawn this morning—when they wrapped up and they’re too tired to go home so Jisoo just let them spent the night on her living room.

“What’s for breakfast?” Jisoo asks with a sly smile as she leans on her kitchen counter.

“Kimchi fried rice.” Mark replied as he turns back to the stove.

“And we’re making some soup.” Bambam added, closing the fridge’s door.

Jisoo nods with a smile on her face, excited for the food, as she turns to her side where Jinyoung is sitting on her bar stool.

“‘Morning.” Jinyoung greeted softly.

Jisoo’s wide smile softens, a little bit flustered with Jinyoung’s hoarse voice from the morning and a little bit embarrassed meeting him with her bare face.

“Good morning.” Jisoo replied softly.

“Sorry, I couldn’t stop them from using your kitchen.” Jinyoung whispered.

“No, it’s okay.” Jisoo assured. “They do this all the time. Payment for staying over.”

“Aye your boyfriend is worried.” Mark teases as he turns around, putting the cooked fried rice on the table top.

“Shut up, Mark.” Jisoo rolls her eyes. “Where’s Youngjae?”

As if on cue, Jisoo’s doorbell rings.

“That’s probably him.” Bambam said. “He went out to buy some eggs.”

“Oh.” Jisoo answers as she walks to her door.

“Oh, good morning!” Youngjae greets with a bright smile as he steps in.

“Morning.” Jisoo greets back as she walks inside.

They walk to the kitchen together. Youngjae hands the eggs to Bambam, who immediately prepares it.

“Hey, I was with the grandma next-door on the elevator,” Youngjae reported. “She asked for my name again and gave me the look—again.”

Jisoo sighs as she walks to her fridge, taking bottles of water. “She’s going to tell my mom again and the neighborhood aunts will talk about me again for letting a man stay at home.”

“Men.” Mark corrected with a grin.

“What? Would you be all right?” Jinyoung asked.

“Nah. I don’t care.” Jisoo said, walking back to her seat with three bottles of water. “Or, I learned not to care anymore. It’s okay. Let them have something to gossip about when they’re bored.”

“Then how about your parents?” Jinyoung asked. “Do they know about us?”

Mark and Youngjae exchanged looks and Jisoo turned pale.

“I—I mean, about this whole setup.” Jinyoung stuttered, embarrassed.

“My mom is too busy traveling the world to care and my dad is, well, busy farming.” Jisoo replied.

“Make way, make way,” Bambam calls as he turns to the group, placing the plate of freshly cooked eggs on the table.

Youngjae passed the bowls and chopsticks and they started eating, not wasting any more time.

They eat in silence for a moment. Devouring the food in front of them. No one bothered talking and all that is heard are munches and the sound of chopsticks hitting the porcelain bowls. Somehow, hunger made them forget the shocking events of the night before.

“Did you hear anything from Jennie?” Mark breaks the silence when he’s done with his food.

Jisoo shakes her head as she chews. “I didn’t bother calling her last night.”

“Jaebum didn’t come back too.” Youngjae mumbles. “Maybe they had some catching up to do?”

Jisoo sighs. “Oh, I hope they did.”

“Maybe they had too much fun catching up and are too tired to wake up.” Bambam says wiggling his eyebrows.

Mark immediately hits his head with a spoon as Jisoo groans.

“Ew! Please, I don’t want to talk about my best friends’ sex life this early in the morning.” Jisoo groans.

Bambam bursts into laughter earning another spoon hit, this time coming from Youngjae.

Jisoo was about to take another bite of her kimchi fried rice when her doorbell rings.

She looks up, looking around and giving the boys looks, wondering who would visit her this early.

“Let me get it.” Youngjae offers, running to the door.

They waited at the table as they take spoonfuls of the rice, Mark and Bambam fighting for an egg when there are two more.

“Jennie!” Youngjae exclaims from the door making them froze on the table.

“Jennie?”

“Jennie.”

“Jennie!”

Jisoo, Mark and Bambam mumbles as they stand from their seats, leaving the clueless Jinyoung alone, running to the door.

When they got to the door, Youngjae has Jennie in a warm bear hug.

“You’re really back.” Mark said, giving Jennie a quick hug after Youngjae released her.

“Hey, Mark.” Jennie mumbles, hugging him back.

“Hi, uh, I hope you still know me, Miss Supermodel.” Bambam mumbles, acting like a star-struck fan.

“Shut up, Bam.” Jennie shakes her head after Mark released her, opening her arms for Bambam.

Bambam smiled widely before walking to Jennie, hugging her, still acting like a fan.

There was an awkward silence after their catching up. The boys are obviously waiting for updates from last night while Jennie is simply waiting for them to leave. Jisoo looks around, sensing the atmosphere.

“You know, guys, you should leave.” She says, turning to the boys. “Work starts in an hour.”

“I don’t want to go to work.” Youngjae groaned.

“Then, go home.” Jisoo said, pushing them to the door.

“I’m not done with my food.” Bambam protests.

“You’ve had enough, Bam.” Jisoo says, giving Mark a look to get them out.

“Come on, kids.” Mark quickly picks up. “Let’s leave the girls alone.”

Mark grabbed their things and basically dragged Bambam and Youngjae out of Jisoo’s house leaving the two and Jinyoung by the door.

Jennie coughs and Jisoo turns to Jinyoung who’s looking star struck.

“Uh, yeah, Jennie, this is Jinyoung,” Jisoo paused, not knowing how to introduce him.

“My boyfriend,” she finally says earning her a wide look from both Jennie and Jinyoung so she corrected herself with an eye roll. “Virtual boyfriend. Also, I don’t know why you don’t know each other when you should but he’s your boyfriend’s best friend,” she told Jennie before turning to Jinyoung. “And she’s your best friend’s girlfriend.”

“Hi, Jinyoung.” Jennie greets with a wide smile, offering a handshake. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Jinyoung politely takes her hand and shakes it gently. “You too, Jennie.”

There was another moment of awkward silence when nobody knows what to do.

Jisoo is turning to Jennie and Jinyoung back and forth before sighing.

“Okay.” She says, turning to Jinyoung and pushing him to the door. “You should go home too.”

“Huh?” Jinyoung mumbles as Jisoo reaches for the knob and opens the door form him. “Yeah, it was nice meeting you, Jennie.” He turned to Jisoo as he reaches for his coat from behind her. The sudden physical closeness makes Jisoo stop her breathing. _Oh, his perfume smells so nice._ She told herself absentmindedly.

“I’ll see you around.” Jinyoung says, almost too melodic that Jisoo felt something in her stomach—like butterflies dancing—as he steps back and exits the door.

Jisoo shuts the door, she hasn’t caught her breathing yet and is still trying to take hold of what she’s feeling when she saw Jennie giving her the look.

Jisoo simply sighs, shaking her own thoughts away, as she walks back to the kitchen to clean up.

“I didn’t know he’ll get so star struck for the second time.” Jisoo said.

Jennie follows her to the kitchen. “Second time?”

“Yeah,” Jisoo says stacking up the bowls then she turned to put them in the sink. “He was so shocked to find out you’re Jaebum’s Jennie. You know, from last night.”

Jennie was mummed. She simply stands on the other side of the kitchen top, not knowing what to say.

Jisoo turns around with a sigh. “It didn’t go well, right?”

Jennie gave her a sad look before shaking her head.

Jisoo frowned. “What happened?”

Jennie hesitated before answering. “We kissed.”

It was too soft, almost inaudible, but Jisoo heard it perfectly clear.

“Then, you’re back together!” Jisoo exclaimed.

“No, no, no.” Jennie disagreed. “He kissed me.”

Jisoo’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. “What? You kissed and he kissed you are two different things, make up your mind. Did you kiss him back?”

“Yes.” Jennie admitted and for a second, Jisoo’s eyes light up from the excitement. “But I pulled away.”

Jisoo’s growing smile turned upside down in pity, but mostly in frustration.

“What? Why?” Jisoo asks, her voice an octave higher in frustration.

“I... I don’t... I’m…” Jennie tries to explain but just ends up sighing, not really knowing what to say.

“Tell me, honestly,” Jisoo says. “Do you still love Jaebum?”

“Jisoo, I never stopped loving him.”

Jennie answered so confidently that it breaks Jisoo’s heart.

“Then what’s wrong? Why can’t you just get back together?” Jisoo asked, hopelessly.

“I wish it was that easy. But...” Jennie trailed off, not knowing if she’ll continue. She looked at Jisoo and saw her sympathetic eyes so she did. “My agents contacted me—no, they have been contacting me and they told me the management are willing to forget about me running away if I come back. And I,” Jennie turns away and walks to Jisoo’s dining table. “I’ve been thinking about going back.” She says as she takes a seat.

“Jennie,” Jisoo called softly as she follows Jennie. “But you said they’re treating you like nothing—it’s basically a slave contract. Do you really want that?”

Jisoo seats in front of Jennie, reaching her hand from across the table.

“Look, Jennie,” she says. “You’re already big here in Seoul. Magazines and brands line up for you. I know it’s your dream, but does it really have to be Milan?”

Jennie shakes her head, taking her hand from Jisoo. “You don’t understand. If I don’t come back, they will not only completely terminate my contract but that puts me in very bad light. That’s breaching a legal contract for me and that means I’m as good as getting blacklisted from the whole fashion world. Even in Seoul where everyone loves me.”

“So, you’ve made up your mind.” Jisoo mumbles.

“I have no choice.”

 

***

 

“You have to talk to her.” Jisoo’s voice is stern. This time it’s more of an order than a request.

They were on the roof deck of their building. Not that she has anything against smokers, but she knows secondhand smoking is worse for her health so she never really fancied the roof deck but she insisted that she and Jaebum should talk somewhere private and the roof deck is the only place Jaebum could think of. Even though it’s always crowded, no one really ever cared about other’s business in here.

Jaebum made a face. “She doesn’t want to talk to me. She made that very clear.”

“I’m not asking you talk to her to get back together.” Jisoo clarified. “I’m asking you to talk to her as Jaebum. You’re the only one she listens to.”

Jaebum tensed. Worry flushes in his whole body. “What do you mean?”

Jisoo takes a moment, thinking how to explain.

“She ran away.” Jisoo exhales.

“What? Ran away from what?”

“From Milan. From her supermodel life. She’s been here for about four months. Do you think she’s here for some vacation?”

“Why? Why would she do that? Did something happen?”

Jisoo shakes her head. “They had talks about extending her contract but that means her being away from home will extend too. The contract is basically shit and she’s done with that.”

“Then don’t come back.” Jaebum said as if Jennie can hear him right now. “She doesn’t have to go there. She has a career here.”

“That’s exactly what I told her!” Jisoo exclaimed. “But she’s stuck. She doesn’t know what to do and only you can talk some sense into her.”

“But, I told you, she doesn’t want to talk to me.” Jaebum insisted.

“Did you even try talking to her? Like with words?” Jisoo asked, catching Jaebum off guard, but didn’t wait for his response. “No. Because you let your mouth do something else instead of talking.”

Jaebum looks away in embarrassment.

“Look,” Jisoo sighs. “Jennie needs you.”

“She doesn’t even want to see me. How can I talk to her?” There was sadness in Jaebum’s voice and Jisoo’s heart breaks.

“Go knock at her door.” Jisoo says, coughing. The cigarette smoke is finally getting to her. “Let her mom open it for you. She likes you so much she’ll probably lock you two in a room for you to talk.”

Jaebum smiles, remembering how Mrs. Kim used to look after him. He misses her too.

Jisoo coughs again, harder this time.

“Hey, let’s go back down.” Jaebum says. “You’ll run out of breath at this rate.”

Jisoo shakes her head while still coughing. “Promise me first that you’ll talk to her.”

Jaebum made a face. “I’m not the one suffering here. Come on.”

Jisoo shakes her head, insisting to torment herself in exchange of his promise.

Jaebum sighed heavily. “Okay, okay. I’ll talk to her. People are looking at you already. You’re embarrassing me.”

Jisoo beamed with a smile as she runs to the door, running straight down the stairs to the elevator with Jaebum a few steps behind her.

They boarded the elevator and were quiet for the first few minutes before Jisoo yawns.

“I barely got sleep last night.” She says.

Jaebum clears his throat, suddenly reminded of the shoot he left the night before. “Yeah, about that. I’m sorry for leaving you guys and thanks for still filming.”

“It’s okay.” Jisoo assures. “But you know things aren’t free nowadays anymore.”

“What?” Jaebum asked.

Jisoo turned to him, her two fingers out. “Edit two episodes for me.”

“What?” Jaebum repeated. “I’m already talking to Jennie!”

“That’s different!” Jisoo exclaimed.

Jaebum sighs in surrender just as they got to their floor.

“Fine.” He finally said as they both exit the elevator and walk to HQ. “But, hey, we’re still on for tonight, okay?”

“For what?” Jisoo asked, puzzled.

“Filming. Jinji.” Jaebum said, tapping his ID to enter the HQ. “We’re filming tonight.”

“No.” Jisoo said, quickly getting inside the HQ before the doors close. She’s too lazy to tap her own ID. “We already filmed last night.”

“No. I just squeezed in last night’s filming in my schedule. Everything else stays the same. We’re filming tonight.” Jaebum insisted.

“No.”

“Yes.”

Jisoo and Bambam said in chorus just as she and Jaebum reached their stations.

“I already cancelled my plans tonight. We can’t cancel the filming.” Bambam said as he leans on the divider of Jaebum’s cubicle.

“Wait,” Jisoo raises a finger. “If we’re sticking to the schedule, then we’re filming the date night tonight?”

Bambam and Jaebum nodded.

“I already have the reservation ready at the restaurant so we can’t cancel.” Jaebum said.

“But I’m not ready! I don’t even have a dress!” Jisoo panicked.

“You don’t have to make so much effort. It’s just a date. A fake date even.” Bambam said.

“The more that I need to get ready! I don’t want some bashers telling me I look trash in a dressed up dinner.” Jisoo replied, gathering her things. “I’m going home.”

“Stop overreacting.” Jaebum mumbles. “Jinyoung will probably just wear a shirt on some jeans.”

“Exactly! And that’s so unfair because people won’t notice that but if I wear a denim skirt instead of a silk skirt, people will attack me for that.” Jisoo whines, totally annoyed.

Jaebum and Bambam exchanged looks.

“Okay, okay, don’t be mad at us.”

Jisoo groans as she puts her bag around her. “I’m not mad at you two. It’s the fucking double standards of this messed up society that I’m mad at.”

 

 

“Hey! Are you planning on burning the apartment?” Jackson runs to the kitchen where Jinyoung is absentmindedly cooking something, turning off the stove when he got there.

“Huh?” Jinyoung responded turning to the stove, only then getting reminded of the stew he is reheating for lunch. “Oh, shit!” He exclaims stepping away from the stove.

Jackson gives him a look of disbelief. “Move. I’ll cook instead. I don’t want you to burn this house down.”

Jinyoung made a face and gives way for Jackson. Jackson took some pans from the cabinet on top of the stove as Jinyoung stays on the side, leaning on the kitchen top.

“Do you think people can fall out of love?” Jinyoung suddenly asks, almost involuntary.

“Huh?” Jackson mumbles, giving Jinyoung a look as he heats the pan.

Jinyoung made a face. “Never mind.”

He was about to leave the kitchen when Jackson suddenly asks, “Hey, man, are you okay? Jaebum asked me to talk to you.”

Jinyoung made an offended face. “What? I’m not the one who needs counseling. It’s him.”

“What?” Jackson asked. “Why am I friends with problematic people.”

Jinyoung ignored his remark. “His ex is back.”

“Jennie is back?” Jackson was so surprised his eyes looks like they’ll pop open.

Jinyoung nods. “By the way, why didn’t you tell me his girlfriend is a supermodel?”

Jackson made a confused face. “You never asked.”

Jinyoung scoffed.

“But seriously, Jinyoung, how are you?” Jackson asked as he takes some meat from the fridge.

Jinyoung can perfectly hear the concern in his voice that he always has for him and he’s somehow pissed.

“I’m fine.” Jinyoung still answered after a couple of seconds; mostly because he just wants Jackson to stop asking but partly because he’s really feeling better these days.

Jackson thought about his answer for a while, eventually accepting it because Jinyoung does look like he’s better these days. Jackson noticed he no longer wakes up from the bad dreams but the walls of their apartment are thin so he’s also aware of the late night phone conversations.

Jackson nods as he starts cooking the meat.

“How’s Jisoo?” He asked.

Jinyoung gave Jackson a look.

“I saw the bowling episode of Jinji.” Jackson asked, busy with what he’s cooking. “You look great together. You’re both happy.”

Jinyoung thinks about some petty or savage response but couldn’t think of any. Amidst all the confusion, he’s happy.

Jackson turned to him with a warm but teasing smile.

Jinyoung made a face then scoffs before leaving Jackson in the kitchen and walking to the couch. He plops himself on the couch where Yugyeom is peacefully sitting, leaning his back on Yugyeom’s side and taking most of the space in the couch.

“Hey!” Yugyeom whined. They haven’t known each other for that long but living together somehow made them comfortable with each other—too comfortable that they bicker and annoy each other almost everyday.

Jinyoung ignored and him and squeezed himself closer to the younger lad. He crosses his arms, still annoyed with Jackson’s teasing smile and Jaebum bothering him. Jackson didn’t explain what exactly Jaebum told him but Jinyoung is pretty sure it’s still about Jisoo, just like what they talked about the other day.

Jinyoung hates it whenever his friends try to meddle in his personal life. He was never comfortable talking about his feelings, even though his two best friends are the only persons he trusts to get through him, it still annoys him whenever they bother him like now. He feels like they’re intruding, like they’re judging him because he’s doing something wrong.

But mostly, he hates it because whenever they try to talk to him like this, they’re always right with their guts. And he hates it because they seem to be right this time too.

Jisoo makes him happy. Jinyoung would never admit that but he knows that’s the truth. She was just a distraction at first, but now, he is afraid that she has become more. So much more.

Jinyoung is getting too invested in this whole setup and to Jisoo, more importantly, and he’s afraid that he’s not at all ready for this. He’s afraid that Jaebum is right. He might end up hurting Jisoo in the end.

But Jinyoung is stubborn and she is like a drug. He knows this isn’t the best for either of them but he still likes to be with her.

So he sits up straight, a bit too sudden that surprised Yugyeom, and took his phone to call Jisoo.

He doesn’t even know what to say to her; he doesn’t care that he might be disturbing her at work. All he knows is that he wants to talk to her and hearing her voice is more than enough.

He walks to his room as Jisoo’s phone rings on the other line.

“What’s up with him?” Jinyoung heard Yugyeom ask just before he shuts the door.

“Jinyoung?” Jisoo asked. She was obviously surprised but Jinyoung would like to think there’s some hidden excitement in her voice too.

“Hey,” Jinyoung greets back, suddenly nervous.

“What’s up?” Jisoo asked.

“Uh, I...” Jinyoung trails off, thinking of what to say. “I’m just checking if we’re still on for the filming tonight.” Was what he ended up saying, remembering the text Jaebum sent him earlier reminding him of the call time for the filming.

Jisoo groans. “Yes.”

“Why? What’s wrong?” Jinyoung asked, worried that Jisoo didn’t want to film with him.

“I completely forgot about it and I’m not ready!” Jisoo replied. “I thought Jaebum moved the filming for that episode since we already filmed one last night.”

Jinyoung smiled in relief.

“Now I’m skipping work. I have to pick up my dress and get ready. And call time is in three hours!” Jisoo rants.

“You’re skipping work for our date?” Jinyoung teased, a wide smile flashing across his face.

Jisoo took a moment before answering. Jinyoung likes to think she got flustered and is now blushing.

“Shut up, you’re not that special.” Jisoo says.

Jinyoung chuckles softly. “Where are you now?”

“Elevator, leaving the HQ.” Jisoo replied.

“Wait for me, I’ll give you a ride.” Jinyoung said.

“With your bike?” Jisoo asks with a light chuckle.

“What? Hey, that bike drove you around when you’re too stressed with your work.” Jinyoung reminded.

Jisoo laughs. “Don’t sweat. I’ll just take the subway.”

“I insist.” Jinyoung said.

“I’m already walking to the subway.” Jisoo said. “I’ll see you at the shoot.”

Jinyoung looked at his watch. The subway is a twenty-minute walk from the Post It HQ; their apartment is thirty minutes away from the subway—by bike.

“I’ll meet you at the subway.” Jinyoung said.

“I’m literally a few blocks away. I’ve got things to do and I don’t have time to wait for you and your bike.” Jisoo said.

“Okay. If you get to the station and I’m not yet there, then go take the subway. But if I’m there when you arrive, I’ll give you ride.” Jinyoung dared.

Jisoo laughs. “Okay, whatever you say.”

Jinyoung smirks. “See you.”

“You’re crazy.” Jisoo says before hanging up.

Jinyoung’s smirk turns into a wide, giddy smile just as he puts his phone inside his back pocket, quickly getting out of his room then he walks to the door.

“Jacks,” he called as puts on his shoes. “Where’s my car key?”

“Your what?” Jackson asked, he’s finishing whatever it is he was cooking.

“My car key.” Jinyoung repeated as he puts on his coat.

Jackson peeks from the kitchen to give Jinyoung a puzzled look.

Jinyoung gave him an impatient look.

Jackson, even though still confused, points at his coat hanging behind Jinyoung.

“Is Sooyoung taking it back already?” Jackson asked but Jinyoung ignores him.

Instead, Jinyoung turns around and searched for the keys in the coat’s pocket. He successfully retrieved it about a second or two later then he walks out of the door without saying a word.

“He’s acting weird.” He heard Yugyeom mumble again just as he shuts the door.

Jinyoung smiled widely. Yes, he is definitely acting weird.

 

 

Even though she’s still a couple of meters away from the station’s entrance, Jisoo can perfectly see it. There is no bicycle parked around the station. Of course, there’s no way Jinyoung can beat her to the station with his bike—his apartment is farther than the HQ.

Jisoo shakes her head as she walks nearer; a triumphant smile is plastered on her face. She’s a little bit disappointed, but she’s definitely proud from winning.

She was about to enter the station when she heard a familiar voice, “Hey.”

She takes a step back and slowly turns to where the voice is coming from. She swears all the hair in her body stood up when he saw him. It’s impossible but there he is, arms crossed, leaning back on a black SUV. Jisoo blinked once then twice just to make sure her eyes aren’t fooling her.

He then chuckled with his eyes crinkling and his hand quickly went up to his face to cover his mouth. Now she is sure, it’s Park Jinyoung.

Jisoo walks to him, eyes still wide in surprise.

“Where did you get that?” She asked.

Jinyoung shrugged, leaning off the car and putting his hands on his pocket.

“An upgrade.” He says as he walks to the passenger’s seat opening the door for Jisoo.

Jisoo takes a moment, as if trying to let it sink in, before sighing then smiling afterwards. She then shakes her head as she walks to the passenger’s seat.

“You’re really crazy.” She mumbles as she hops in.

Jinyoung smiled proudly before shutting the door. He then walks to the driver’s seat, getting in and quickly turning the engine on, not wasting any time.

“Where are we off to?” Jinyoung asked after successfully getting on the road.

“I’m picking up a dress at a boutique.” Jisoo replies, eyes fixed on her phone as she searches for the place in her GPS map. “Here.” She says as she puts the phone in between them.

Jinyoung took a quick glance before nodding.

“Aren’t you taking this date a bit seriously?” Jinyoung asked, eyes back on the road.

Jisoo is embarrassed and a bit offended. Of course, she doesn’t want Jinyoung to think she’s over preparing for their virtual date. She’ll never do that. It’s not always about the guy, she just personally loves to dress up and it really matters to her how to look in front of the camera. It’s not about Jinyoung—or is it?

“I mean, it’s just a virtual date.” Jinyoung added when Jisoo took time to reply. “I don’t mind if you don’t prepare too much.”

Jisoo scoffed. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. I’m just really particular on how I’ll look on screen for a date. This is purely work.”

Jinyoung smiles, once again finding Jisoo amusing. “Whatever you say.” He says with playful shrug.

They arrived at the boutique a couple of minutes later, the GPS map helped a lot with guiding Jinyoung and in filling in the awkward silence during the drive.

Jisoo talked to the lady in the boutique as soon as they enter while Jinyoung looks around before sitting down on the waiting couch, realizing there’s nothing much for him here.

The lady comes back and handed Jisoo a dress.

“Wait for me here,” she told Jisoo. “I’ll just try this on.”

“Wait, I’m going to see you in the dress you’ll wear for the date? Isn’t that bad luck?” Jinyoung asked.

Jisoo took a moment thinking before realizing Jinyoung’s point. “That’s for weddings, smart ass.” She says with a light chuckle as she walks to the fitting room.

Jisoo immediately changes into the dress just to get over this quickly, she doesn’t want to be too much of a trouble to Jinyoung and she’s a little bit embarrassed trying on an outfit with him waiting for her. For some reasons, she’s embarrassed Jinyoung will see her in a dress—even though he’ll see her anyway when they shoot later.

But the odds are not in her favor. There is no mirror inside the fitting room and she has to go out to see herself in the mirror. She thought about just getting back in her work clothes and fit it at home but it would be too much of a trouble if the dress ends up not looking good and she has to go back to the boutique for readjustments.

Eventually, Jisoo decided to suck it up and steps out of the fitting room, walking straight to the mirror and past Jinyoung without saying a word.

She stood in front of the mirror as she checks herself out. It is a knee-length, body-fitting mauve-colored dress. It has off-shoulder sleeves that meet in the center making a not-so-deep-but-quite-flattering cut showing off her collarbones. It sculpts Jisoo’s curves beautifully and perfectly accentuates her slim legs. It has exceeded her expectation. She’s actually quite impressed and happy on how it turned out.

“You look great.” Jinyoung mumbles, as if hearing Jisoo’s thoughts.

Jisoo blushed, seeing Jinyoung’s reflection in the huge mirror. He’s looking as if he’s in awe too, he actually has his mouth hanging open a bit—which he eventually closes when he noticed Jisoo looking at him in the mirror.

Jisoo turned more flushed.

“I-I mean, the dress looks nice.” Jinyoung stuttered, embarrassed by how his previous thoughts slip from his mouth involuntary.

Jisoo turns away, coughing, shaking her thoughts away.

“You think so too?” Jisoo asked.

Jinyoung tried to act coolly. “Yeah.”

Jisoo then shift her attention back to her reflection, ignoring Jinyoung for a moment.

She took a couple of minutes turning and checking herself more in the mirror before Jinyoung asks, “What are you doing?”

“Huh?” Jisoo mumbles, still busy looking at herself on the mirror.

“You’ve been looking at yourself for two minutes.” Jinyoung said. “You look great.”

Jisoo blushed, embarrassed, but she tried her best to keep a poker face.

“I’m just checking if I look fat.” Jisoo mumbles.

Jinyoung looked at her in disbelief. “You don't look fat.”

Jisoo shakes her head. “No, I’m anticipating how the camera will make me look fatter.” She then glances at Jinyoung in the mirror. “The camera makes you look three times fatter, at the least.”

Jinyoung made a face. “Still impossible for you to look fat. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with being fat.”

Jisoo made a surprised face as she turns to Jinyoung.

“Thank you.” Jisoo said. “But tell that to the whole country because apparently they think being a medium is not okay.” She let out a heavy breath before turning back to the mirror.

Jinyoung’s eyebrow furrow as smile flashes across his face. “You know, for someone who has a strong personality like you, you’re quite a wimp.”

“Excuse me?” Jisoo asks, dropping her hand from her waist, totally offended.

Jinyoung couldn't help but laugh. “I mean you know what is right but why are you still worried about what people will think?”

Jisoo takes a moment before answering because, unfortunately, Jinyoung is right. She knows people’s mindset and outlook on most of the issues today is not right but she doesn't do much about it. Finally, she sighs.

“Well, netizens,” Jisoo started. “They’re not always right but they put food on the table so, we barely got a choice.”

She smiled weakly at Jinyoung from the mirror and Jinyoung suddenly felt bad about what he said.

“But you know what,” Jisoo says turning around. “I spent so much just for the alteration, so, whatever, this is good.”

She then walks back to the fitting room, quickly changing into her work clothes. She went straight to the counter, talking to the lady, before paying. Jinyoung then stood up from the couch and followed her in the counter as they wait for the lady to finish up the transaction.

They were talking and laughing about some random stuff as they wait when they heard someone call them.

“Jinyoung? Jisoo?” the voice, a little bit uncertain, calls.

They exchanged looks, almost too comedic, before turning around to where the voice is coming from—two girls are looking at them in awe.

“Oh my gosh, it’s really you!” one of the girls squealed.

The two girls, obviously in their high school as their uniform tells, walk to them excitedly.

“From Jinji, right?” the other one asked.

Jisoo and Jinyoung nods.

“We’re huge fans!” the first girl said. “We wait for your episodes every week.”

“Oh, Jinyoung, you look so good!” The second girl squealed before covering her whole face with her hands.

Her friend laughed at her before turning back to Jisoo telling her, “You’re so lucky.”

Jisoo laughs awkwardly and was about to agree but Jinyoung beats her to it. He takes Jisoo hands and interlaced their fingers making Jisoo so flustered she’s afraid she’s looking red as a tomato right now.

“I’m luckier.” Jinyoung said looking at Jisoo who looked away, laughing, in embarrassment.

The two girls squealed in chorus. “You look so cute together!”

“T-thanks.” Jisoo shyly mumbles.

“Can we take a picture with you two?” the second girl asked.

“Of course!” Jisoo replied without even asking Jinyoung, he wouldn't protest anyway.

They squeezed in together as one of the girls takes her phone out. A couple of snaps later, the girls thank them, politely bowing their heads.

“Thank you so much!” the first girl said, then she turned to Jisoo. “Bye!”

“Best wishes for you two!” the second girl added with a giggle before turning to Jisoo. “You’re so pretty! You’re so much thinner in person!”

Jisoo shots Jinyoung an I-told-you-so look, sharing a giggle, before turning back to the girls and thanking them, bowing their heads too.

When the girls exited the boutique, Jisoo and Jinyoung shyly turns to the counter where the lady is waiting for them with a smile. They apologized for taking so long which the lady didn't mind anyway.

“That was cool.” Jinyoung says as they step out of the shop. “Do you get that a lot?”

Jisoo shakes her head. “There are people recognizing me in the streets telling me _oh you’re the girl in youtube_ or something like _the girl who cooks in the internet_ ,” she explains with a variety of voice imitations. “But no one ever asked for a photo. I think those two girls just wanted your photo and just tagged me along.” She said with a chuckle.

Jinyoung made a face. “Why? That’s weird.”

“People love you!” Jisoo says. They are now walking to Jinyoung’s car. “Do you read the comments section of our videos? Or do you even search the Jinji tag?”

Jinyoung innocently shakes his head.

“Really? Wait, hold this for me for a while.” Jisoo says, pausing a few steps from the car and handing the paper bag of her dress to Jinyoung who took it as told.

Jinyoung walks ahead to his car, putting the paper bag on the back seat, while Jisoo remains in her place, getting her phone from her bag.

“Hashtag Jinji,” she mumbles as she types in her twitter while walking to the car and leans by the door when she reached it. A huge smile flash in her face, “Look.”

Jinyoung watched her, just admiring her smile, before leaning in to look at what’s on her phone.

Jisoo searched the Jinji tag on Twitter. There are a couple of random tweets, apparently, Jinji isn’t a unique title and there are actually a couple of people named Jinji. But still, most of the tweets under the tag are related to the series.

There are photos, screenshots, and clips from the different episodes. There are a lot of tweets raving about Jinyoung’s good looks and declaring Jisoo as their girl crush but most of the tweets are still about them as a couple.

They scanned through the tag, laughing as they remember what happened behind the cam, apparently, there is always more than what they uploaded.

They involuntary paused at a GIF taken from the bowling date. They were simply standing in front of each other, about a foot apart, and their heads meet at the center as they laugh. It was pretty cute. Neither of them can remember what they were laughing at, they were probably teasing each other, but their smiles were so genuine it actually made them blush just by looking at it.

“This is weird.” Jisoo mumbles, scrolling past it before just completely closing the app. “It’s a good thing you’re not on Twitter, you know? It’s going to be weird.” She says as she turns to the door, ready to get in.

Jinyoung chuckles lightly. He unlocks the door, waits for Jisoo to get in, before walking to the driver’s seat.

Jinyoung insisted not to use GPS on their way to Jisoo’s apartment, asking Jisoo to tell him the directions himself. Jisoo agreed knowing it can fill in the awkward silence. The trip wasn’t too awkward this time, though. At least not as awkward as their trip to boutique. This time, they were talking about random stuff on top of Jisoo’s road directions. There’s some mellow music playing in the radio, creating a perfect melody with their soft voice and laughter.

 

***

 

“Damn, Jisoo, you look like a lady.” Bambam said.

Jisoo just finished getting ready. She has a simple yet elegant makeup done with her hair down in loose lazy curls perfectly complementing the dress they picked up earlier. She’s just putting on her strappy heels while Bambam is reviewing the footages he took for Jinji’s episode. He was the one filming Jisoo getting ready while Jaebum and Lisa are over Jinyoung’s to film him.

Jisoo felt slightly offended. “What? Did you think I was a man all this time?”

Bambam shrugged. “But I definitely didn’t see you as a lady.”

“You’re so mean!” Jisoo says but ends up laughing at the younger’s wit.

“If I didn’t see you struggling with your eyeliner and burning your finger five times while doing your hair, I might actually get attracted to you right now.” Bambam mumbles, still reviewing his camera.

“Hey,” Jisoo says straightening her back. “I feel like I should be offended but I’m actually glad you saw me through all my struggle.”

Jisoo fixes her dress when she stood then walks to get her coat from her couch. “Where are they?” She asked.

“They should be here any moment now.” Bambam replied just as his phone beeps and they heard a knock on the door.

“It’s us.” Jaebum says from behind the door.

Jisoo was about to open the door but Bambam stopped her.

“Wait, don’t open it. Jaebum wants to film your genuine reactions upon seeing each other.” He explained.

“Yes!” Lisa giddily agrees from behind the door. Jisoo doesn’t know if her walls are really thin or they’re just too close to her door to hear each other. “At least there’s going to be something genuine in this series.”

It was obviously a joke but it was only Bambam who reacted, suppressing a laugh.

Jisoo wanted to say Jinyoung has already seen her wearing the dress but she didn’t want to spoil everyone’s mood in filming so she kept her mouth shut.

“Okay, Jinyoung will press the doorbell in three and Jisoo will open—“

“I know how that stuff works, Jaebum.” Jisoo interrupted Jaebum’s orders which he chose to ignore.

“Bambam, are you rolling?” Jaebum asked.

“Yup.” Bambam replied.

In less than a minute, the doorbell rang and even though Jisoo was expecting it, her heart skipped a beat. Suddenly, she’s nervous. She’s stunned and didn’t know what to do. She felt her hands cold, her stomach twisting and turning and her heart beating fast in her chest.

Bambam looks up from the camera, signaling Jisoo to open the door. Jisoo then takes a deep breath, smiles at the camera and walks to open the door.

Jisoo slowly opens the door. Lisa was the first person she saw. She was standing farthest from the door with Jaebum in front of her. Jisoo tries hard not to look at him, avoiding to look directly at the camera, which leaves her to direct her eyes to Jinyoung.

He is like a prince of the modern times. He’s wearing a light gray—almost faded—thin collared crisp shirt with its sleeves rolled up to his elbows and is nicely tucked in a pair of dark pants. His hair is suavely waxed, parted on the side which shows much of his forehead—a lot different than his daily soft laid down hair. Jisoo can’t thinking of better words to describe him—he’s simply dashing like a prince. She wouldn’t admit it and she hopes it doesn’t show in her face, but she feels giddy just by looking at him and the bouquet of pink daisies he’s holding is making the butterflies in her stomach go wild.

Jinyoung takes a deep breath after swallowing the lump in his throat. He felt his heart racing fast, as if it’s going to jump off his chest. Jisoo is making him nervous and while he can’t explain why, he can’t see any reasons why his heart won’t stop beating so fast. She looks gorgeous. He knew she would look great in the dress, he has already seen her wearing it earlier but seeing her all dressed up right now, he’s overwhelmed by how much more gorgeous she can get.

They stared at each other for a while, obviously admiring each other and gathering the courage to say something.

Jinyoung was the first to break the silence.

“Hey,” he says as he steps inside.

“Hi,” Jisoo greets back, perking up when she realized there are cameras and that they should be acting. “Is that for me?” She asks referring to the flowers.

“Oh, y-yeah.” Jinyoung stutters, embarrassed since he forgot about the flowers already, as he hands the flowers to Jisoo. “Of course.”

Jisoo smiles widely, her eyes forming crescents and her nose crinkling, as she takes the flowers. “Thanks.”

Jisoo always wondered why girls smell flowers after they’re given it when fresh flowers rarely have smell but as she involuntary brings the flowers to her face, sniffing it lightly, she realizes that girls do that not to smell the flowers but to hide their smiles from too much giddiness just like what she’s doing right now.

Jinyoung, lost between acting and following his instincts on how dates should go, smiles then holds his palm out. “Ready?”

Jisoo pulls the bouquet from her face and rests it in her arm. “Hold on,” she says as she takes her sling clutch and swings it in her elbow then she takes Jinyoung’s hand. “Ready.”

 

 

The restaurant that Jaebum picked for the shoot is a roof deck restaurant that’s quite trending in the internet right now for its romantic and Instagram-worthy look. It really does look like a place straight out of Instagram—it has a nice view of the city, not too high on top of a ten-floor building, the place is nicely lit with post lights and white LED lights hanging around the brick ledge. Since it’s a Friday, there’s an acoustic duo performing some mellow songs which is perfect for a date night. They served a three-course meal—chicken and berry salad for appetizer, for the main course, they had almond-crusted salmon and garlic scallop potatoes as sides and lastly, for dessert, they shared a skillet brownie a la mode—sounds too fancy but, even with a bottle of champagne, it’s actually not too pricey.

They just finished eating dessert—Jinyoung and Jisoo playfully fought for the last bite of the brownie which, eventually, Jinyoung gave to Jisoo. If he’s sincere or he’s just doing it for the show, no one will ever know. They are having a quick break now, Jaebum and Bambam are changing batteries while Lisa is settling the bills and other stuff, when Jisoo walks over the brick ledge. She leaned on the ledge in her elbows, admiring the calm sky.

The weather is perfect, not too cold, and the stars are showing tonight—it was overall a very romantic date, Jisoo felt like it’s a bum that this is just a fake date. She can’t help but wonder how nice it will be if she’s here on a real date. There are no cameras around, no one watching, just she and Jinyoung—she quickly shakes the thoughts away. Did she actually think of having a real date with Jinyoung?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt Jinyoung walking to her. He leans on the ledge beside her.

“That was a nice meal.” He mumbles.

“It was.” Jisoo agreed, inhaling the cool breeze then exhaling. “This feels weird.”

Jinyoung turned to her, giving her a look. “When was the last time you went on a real date?”

Jisoo turned to him, looking offended but a smile is seen across her face. “That is not where I was going for with what I said.”

Jinyoung grinned then shrugged.

Jisoo simply smiled shaking her head then turned back ahead.

“So, when?” Jinyoung asked again.

“You’re serious with your question?” Jisoo asked.

Jinyoung nods.

“I don’t know,” Jisoo hesitates. Dating isn’t a foreign topic to her but she’s just not comfortable talking about it, especially with Jinyoung.

“I’m not really someone who does dates. In real life.” She admitted.

“You never had a boyfriend?” Jinyoung asked in disbelief.

“No!” Jisoo turned to him, obviously offended. “That’s not what I mean. I just don’t...” Jisoo doesn’t know how to explain. “I prefer just hanging out over fancy dates like this, you know? It’s less stressful, more comfortable.”

Jinyoung nods. “So when was the last date? Fancy or not.”

Jisoo gives him an annoyed look to which he replied with a laugh.

“You didn’t answer!” He pressed in between laughter.

Jisoo rolls her eyes, laughing along.

“It’s been too long.” She finally answers. “About a year, I think?”

Jinyoung turned to her with a fake gasp. “That long?”

“Hey,” Jisoo giggles. “What’s wrong with that? I was busy with work.”

“Did I say anything?” Jinyoung mumbles and they laughed softly in chorus.

“A year.” Jinyoung repeats as he inhales before sighing. “That’s about the same for me. I guess I was busy too.” He says with a weak chuckle and Jisoo’s heart breaks a little because she knows.

It’s been about a year since _she_ was gone.

 

***

 

It’s Sunday and Jisoo loves spending her Sundays in bed, binge-watching _Brooklyn Nine Nine_ on Netflix but here she is up at nine in the morning, filming for Jinji. She insisted that Sundays are for staying at home to rest but Jaebum protested that Sundays are for brunch so here they are at an All-You-Can-Eat restaurant that specializes on American brunch to film the brunch date episode.

Jisoo has worked so much over the past week. The stress she had preparing for Fusion and filming for Jinji on top of dealing with her best friends’ little love scenario is way too much than the stress she had in the past month. All she want right now is slump herself in bed and sleep, but no. She’s here loading her plate with too much food that she’ll probably regret eating later—not because it didn’t taste good but because she had too much to eat from stress eating—with Jinyoung making bad egg puns beside her.

Jinyoung. If there’s probably one consolation in this whole Sunday filming and all the shenanigans she had over the week, that’s Jinyoung. Come to think of it, he was with her in every stressful event she faced in the past week and he was there not to add stress but to make her feel better—in his own unique little ways.

“Sunny side up or scrambled?” Jinyoung asked as they walk from the egg station going to the meat section.

Jisoo looks down her plate. “Scrambled. Of course. Sunny side up is boring. With scrambled egg, you can add cheese.”

“Then that’s an omelet.” Jinyoung said.

They both took bacon and sausages, then walks to the next section when Jisoo says, “Omelet has fillings. I meant actually mixing the cheese on the egg.”

Jinyoung simply shakes his head, smiling, surrendering because he can never win over Jisoo’s wit anyway.

“Hey, Jisoo,” Youngjae, today’s camera person, mumbles when they’re on the bread and jam section. “Put something on Jinyoung’s plate.”

Jisoo, since she can’t really protest on-cam, puts on a wide smile as she reaches for a bread and puts peanut butter spread on it with her free hand—which Jinyoung found really amusing—then puts it on Jinyoung’s plate.

“I won’t even do this for my real boyfriend,” she says behind a smile. “But, okay.”

Jinyoung and Youngjae both chuckle and they went on with filming.

People were looking at them while filming not only because of the cameras but because Jisoo and Jinyoung look distractingly cute. Jisoo’s mustard sundress with white daisies printed in it and Jinyoung’s plain white shirt and khakis complement each other so well, they even look better on camera.

After they finished getting their food, they went on their table where there are cameras set up in two angles so they can all eat while filming—even Youngjae, Jaebum and Lisa.

They are halfway through their meal Jisoo noticed that Jinyoung didn’t even take a bite of the peanut butter sandwich she made.

“You didn’t eat the sandwich.” She thought out loud. Not wanting to sound aggressive, she asked, “Are you allergic to peanuts?”

“Oh, no, no.” Jinyoung said.

Jisoo nods, debating whether or not she’ll ask why he’s not eating it then.

“I just... I never eat peanut butter anymore.” Jinyoung explained.

That’s when Jisoo asked, “Why?”

“Acquired habit, I think?” Jinyoung smiles weakly. “ _She’s_ the one allergic to peanuts. So, I never really ate since we got together.”

“Oh.” It was a long kind of _oh_ that she says as she nods her head.

Jinyoung shakes his head in regret. “Sorry, I shouldn't have brought her up.”

Jisoo felt bad and guilty. That’s the last thing she wants to happen—for Jinyoung to feel bad about talking about her.

“Hey, no,” Jisoo says, eyes fixed on her plate. “You shouldn't be sorry.”

Jinyoung smiles weakly. Jisoo’s heart sinks. He’s thinking again and he’s letting it bother him.

“May I?” Jisoo asks as she reaches for the peanut butter sandwich to which Jinyoung replied with a soft sure as he glides his plate near her.

“You should never say sorry for remembering her.” She says as she takes a bite of the sandwich.

“In fact, I know it still feels heavy but,” She continues after chewing. “I think you should be remembering her more—I mean the good stuff. You should celebrate her and all the beautiful things about her.”

She looked at Jinyoung whose eyes are fixed on his plate.

“I may sound insensitive but don't you think that instead of mourning, it’s better to celebrate her? Celebrate her life and all the things you love about her.”

Jinyoung looks up from his plate and locks eyes with Jisoo.

A year has passed—a year of crying, regrets and mourning. There’s not a day in that year that he didn't remember her. Every day, every minute, in everything that he does—despite the distractions—he has always remembered her and the pain. Jinyoung is only realizing it now that in the past year that she was gone, he remembers her with pain. All that he had in mind thinking about her is the pain, the suffering.

While constantly remembering and yearning for her, he has forgotten about her smile and her beauty. All that he remembers are her cries, not the sound of her laughter. He remembers her lying on the kitchen floor, helpless and not when she’s lying on the bed beside him with her arms wrapped around him, making him warm.

He was so drowned with the pain of losing her that he forgot about the beauty of being in love with her.

Jisoo smiles at him, pulling him from his thoughts.

“Tell me about her,” she tries. It is a one in a million chance that he’ll open up but Jisoo still tried asking. She hopes he will, even just a little bit. Jisoo believes that embracing her beautiful memories instead of sulking on the bad ones will help Jinyoung accept what happened.

“Does she prefer sunny side up or scrambled?” Jisoo added when Jinyoung didn't respond, trying to make it lighter.

Which worked because Jinyoung beamed with a wide smile, almost giddy, as he shakes his head.

“Omelet.” Jinyoung answered. “She’s definitely an omelet.”

Jisoo nods, smiling, accepting Jinyoung’s answer even though it’s not in the options because the important thing right now is that he’s talking.

“There’s so much more about her than meets the eye.” Jinyoung added.

Jisoo smiles. “Just like an omelet.”

Jinyoung spent the rest of their meal talking about her. It was the random, trivial things about her—he never really talked about _them_ which Jisoo thought was okay. Yes, she wanted him to celebrate her and her memories, but she doesn't know if she’s ready to hear about their relationship. Jisoo knows he loves her, he loves her so much, and Jisoo doesn't know if she’ll be okay hearing that directly from Jinyoung.

“She seems like a really nice person.” Jisoo comments after Jinyoung talked about how she would always cry seeing old couples, she has a soft spot for them. “I feel like she’s the kind of person I’d be friends with.”

“Yeah, I think so too.” He agrees because despite the circumstances they have right now, he thinks that they will actually get along. “But, even without the current circumstances, do you think we’ll still meet each other?”

The question surprised Jisoo and, honestly, Jinyoung surprised himself too.

“Hey, we’ll definitely meet each other!” Jisoo leans forward on the table. “There’s Jaebum, remember?”

Jinyoung pursed his lips, nodding. “How will we meet then?”

“I don't know,” Jisoo mumbles, thinking. “In Jaebum and Jennie’s wedding?”

Jinyoung chuckles. “You’re certain they’ll get married?”

Jisoo turned pale. “Hey, of course! And, in an alternative universe that they don't end up together, I’d like to believe that Jaebum would still invite me to his wedding. That’s where we’ll meet because she’ll be your plus one.”

Jinyoung nods, convinced. “Who will be your plus one then?”

Jisoo blushed, definitely caught off guard, but she still manages to say, “Whoever my virtual boyfriend is by then.”

Jinyoung couldn't help it and he bursts into laughter, it didn't take long before Jisoo joined him. For the other people in the restaurant who don't know what’s really going on, they look like a cute young couple who are having so much time with each other. In the eyes of the old couple in a table behind them, Jisoo and Jinyoung reminds them of when they were young and in love.

“You know what,” Jinyoung mumbles when their laughter died down. “I’m glad I met you. Now. Even under all the weird situation we are in right now.”

It feels like a warm hug around Jisoo’s heart. She was never looking for affirmation or anything, his words didn't even convince her much; it was his eyes, bright and clear as he tells those words that made Jisoo’s heart calm.

She didn't know what to say, afraid that she will ruin the moment. So just smiles hoping that her smile will make him feel the same way too.

 

***

 

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll call you later. Bye.” Jisoo hangs up with a smile as she walks back to her station after talking to Jinyoung in the phone.

All the hair in her body stood up when she found Jaebum sitting in his station. She thought she’s alone in the HQ doing overtime, that’s why she took Jinyoung’s call thinking no one will hear. Jaebum looks busy in his computer, did he hear anything?

Jisoo walks slowly and quietly to her station, not wanting to make any noise so Jaebum wouldn't notice her. She took a sigh of relief after sitting without Jaebum noticing her—or so she thought.

“Was that Jinyoung?” Jaebum asked and Jisoo froze in her seat.

Jaebum turned his chair around to face Jisoo and gave her a smug smile, waiting for her answer.

“No!’ Jisoo quickly denied but she knows she can’t really lie to Jaebum so, she pivots. “Yes.”

Jaebum smirks, shaking his head as he turns back to his computer. “What are you two doing?”

“Nothing,” Jisoo defensively mumbles as she turns to her computer too. But then again, lying to Jaebum leads to bigger problems, it’s proven.

“Just…” Jisoo trails off. What is it exactly that they’re doing? “We’re calling each other to keep awake at night, to distract him from the dreams.”

Jaebum made a face. “But you _love_ sleeping.”

“I do.” Jisoo replied with an awkward laugh.

“Wait, you’re calling him because of his dreams?” Jaebum only realized what Jisoo is actually doing.

Jisoo nods.

“What are you two doing?” Jaebum asked again. This time, it isn’t just curiosity. There’s worry and annoyance and wonder all over it.

Jisoo sighs heavily, feeling accused. “I don't know, Jaebum. You tell me—what am I doing?”

Jaebum can’t point out what it is exactly but it leads to one thing—Jisoo is being stupid. But he can’t tell her that. So he shuts his mouth and tries to be a better friend.

“I think you know exactly what’s going on right now. What you’re feeling, to be specific.” Jaebum says, turning back to his computer. “At least for you. No one knows what’s going on inside that jerk’s head.”

“He’s just hurting. That’s all.” Jisoo said.

Jaebum dropped his shoulders. “Really? You’re in that stage already?”

“Shut up.” Jisoo whined, leaning back to her chair, letting her head fall down.

Jaebum chuckled. “But, hey, thank you for doing that for him. I can’t fully support and tolerate you with this but thank you. He can be a bit of an ass but he’s opening up to you.”

“Wait, are you wiretapping our calls?” Jisoo suspected, slightly turning to him. It was impossible, of course.

Jaebum made a face. “What? No. I meant the talks. I think you forgot the camera was on when you were talking during brunch.”

“Oh.” Jisoo breathes, resuming her previous position.

“Look, I can see that it’s working. But,” Jaebum hesitates. He turned his chair fully to Jisoo right now. He knows it makes Jisoo happy right now, in fact they both look happy right now. He’s seeing it when they’re on camera and he’s seeing it even when they’re not filming. But it’s worrying him. Until when? Until when can they be happy? He knows Jisoo and he knows Jinyoung and he knows whatever this is that they’re trying to do is not bound for a happy ending.

“But we don’t know how long he’s going to be like this.” Jaebum continued. “He’s so just so broken. It’s best if you can save yourself before you get broken too.”

Jisoo doesn’t know what to say. He hates how Jaebum perfectly summed up her fear. She knows that, from the very moment she brought herself into Jinyoung. She knows that when she offered to pick up the shattered pieces of his heart, she’s bound to hurt herself too. Because no one has ever picked up shards without wounding themselves. She knows that but it gives a different kind—a worse kind—of pain hearing it from someone else. So she just stayed where she is, she let her head fall with her eyes closed, her tears won’t fall this way.

They stayed quiet for a while. Jaebum knows he has said some hurtful words so he let Jisoo have some moment. He then sighs, a sigh of pity, before turning his chair back to face his computer.

“Tell me about her.” Jisoo says, straightening her back and turning to Jaebum. “Tell me about them.”

“What?” Jaebum asked in disbelief. “Were you not listening to what I said? I just told you to save yourself from breaking and now you’re hurting yourself. Forget it, Jisoo.”

“Jaebum, come on.” Jisoo pleads. “You know I can’t do that.”

Jaebum wanted to argue that Jisoo can do what he says but the look in her face right now tells him she has made up her mind and she can’t do anything about it anymore.

“But I, at least, need to know what I’m getting myself into.” Jisoo added.

Jaebum thinks about it. “No. If I can’t change your mind then leave me out of this.”

“Jaebum,” Jisoo pleaded.

“Why don’t you go ask him?” Jaebum asked.

“You know that’s not gonna work.” Jisoo said.

Jaebum didn’t say anything and focused on his computer, which is impossible.

“Jaebum, I need to know.” Jisoo says. “I want to help him. We all do. Maybe I’ll get hurt or maybe not—we can’t really tell but there’s no other way.”

Jaebum has his eyes fixed on his monitor but his mind is wandering elsewhere. He’s seeing Jinyoung smiling, talking like a normal person, being in love once again and he sees that Jinyoung with Jisoo and they’re both happy. It may sound lame but that’s exactly what he wants for his best friends.

“Please?” Jisoo pleads once again, her voice softer this time.

Jaebum takes a deep breath as he turns his chair to face Jisoo. Fuck it. Maybe this is what’s the best. For now.

“Her name was Jessica.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *collective gasp* jessica? kfkfkfkf lmao sorry but it has to be her tho i feel bad putting her here especially with how the character ended up but the character fits so well so i thought of her kdjdjdjd pls don’t kill me >.<
> 
> Anyway, a lot of things (fluff) happened here and I hope it still made sense hehe
> 
> Again, please drop some comments or hit me up on twt or cc and tell me what you think of this! I know I haven’t been replying to you comments (bc im lazy fkdjdkd) but I love reading them and your comments motivates me a lot in writing the next chapters. Sorry if I can’t reply but please know that I appreciate them so much! ^^
> 
> Thank you! <3
> 
> PS. I posted this using my phone so sorry if the spaces and alignments are weird kddjdkkdd I promise to edit it once I get hold of a latop. For now, sorry if it’s eye soring >.<


	8. Dreamcatcher

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!! PSA !!!
> 
> GOT7's album Present: YOU will be out on 09.17.2018! Please make sure to pre-order your album/s and equip yourselves with Melon, Genie, etc streaming passes!
> 
> Let's give our best for this comeback, ahgases! <3
> 
> Now, back to regular programming lmao sorry to keep y'all waiting >.<

“Wait, wait, wait,” Jisoo interrupts Jaebum. “Isn’t she Asian? I saw her on Jinyoung’s Instagram, she’s clearly Asian.”

Jaebum made a face. “She’s Asian-American. Asians can have English name, racist.”

“I’m not racist!” Jisoo protested. “I just got confused. Sorry, continue.”

Jaebum shakes his head. “She’s born and raised in the US to Chinese parents, I think? Seriously, there’s nothing much I know that you don't already know.” Jaebum says, trying to just close the topic but Jisoo is just looking at him, waiting for more.

“I don't know much,” he repeated after a sigh. “Jinyoung never really talked about her. I never even met her. But Jackson and I went to the funeral, you know to be there for Jinyoung, and that’s when we actually met her. Well, it wasn't really a meeting, but you know what I mean.”

Jisoo nods and so Jaebum continued. “There, we talked to her parents and they were the ones who told us about them. It’s very typical you know—fall in love in college, got serious, moved in together after college—I’m pretty sure you know about that stuff already.”

Jisoo nods again, this time there’s a bit of pain in her eyes. Jaebum wanted to back out again, but continued anyway.

“They were happy,” Jaebum says. “Even Jessica’s parents acknowledged that. They’re good for each other. But it all went downhill when Jinyoung got busier—greedier, actually—at work and Jessica was casted on Broadway.”

“In Broadway?” Jisoo repeated with eyes wide in shock.

“Yes.” Jaebum nodded. “Just some small productions but she was a Broadway actress. I thought you stalked his Instagram? You should know.”

“I… couldn't.” Jisoo admitted. “I just scanned but didn't look into the captions or anything.”

Jaebum nods, understanding. “Anyway, they basically lost time for each other but they, more or less, got through it. They still found happiness in the midst of chaos.” His voice softens, saddens. “Then, things get shitty. Jinyoung got promoted just as Jessica faced the first slump of her career. Bad reviews—it’s always what put people down. I honestly don't know what went after but Jessica got really depressed after that and eventually, well, you know what happened.”

Jisoo looks from a far. It was a lot to take in. Though it’s heavier when she heard it from Jinyoung—less details but more impact—she needed a moment to take it all in. It’s unfair how life can be so cruel to people who are happy.

“Wait,” Jisoo mumbles, remembering an important detail. “How come you two never talked about her? I thought you are best friends? And he doesn’t know about Jennie either.”

Jaebum took a moment then sighs before answering. “Jinyoung kinda shut us down when he was in New York.”

“What?” Jisoo asks in disbelief. “Did you guys had beef or something?”

Jaebum made a face as he turns back to his monitor. “No. He’s just that kind of person. When he has a goal in mind, he focuses on that. Talking to us will just make him miss home and might distract him from college and eventually work.”

“That’s still sad, though.” Jisoo mumbles. “He’s so far from home and he can’t even talk to his friends?”

“That’s why Jessica was good for him. She made him feel home—she became his new home.” It was too late when Jaebum realized what his words did to Jisoo. When he turned to her, almost too impulsive, she has a weak smile on, almost fake.

“Of course.” She mumbles, mostly to herself.

Jaebum dropped his shoulders. “You know, this is a bad idea. We shouldn't have talked about them in the first place.” He has this annoyed look in his face that made Jisoo laugh. Jaebum is always so easy to annoy and she enjoys that so much. “Stop this now before you get hurt.”

“Hey, do you really think I’m that weak? I’m fine, Jaebum.” Jisoo says. “Besides, no one’s gonna get hurt.”

Jaebum shots her a who-are-you-fooling look to which Jisoo simply replied with a shrug.

“Don't worry.” Jisoo assures. “I got this.”

 

***

 

Jinyoung is lying on the couch, shuffling through random TV channels like the bum that he is when there’s no shoot—but so is Yugyeom. So the two of them are peacefully slumped on the couch after about ten minutes of fighting over the remote. Ultimately, Jinyoung won. They have their backs leaning on each of the armrests of the couch while their legs are all the way stretched—it’s starting to annoy Jinyoung because Yugyeom’s long legs are already reaching his part of the armrest.

“You don't even have anything to watch, give me the remote.” Yugyeom whined, he doesn't have anything to watch too, he just doesn't like losing over Jinyoung.

“Shut up, kid. I won fair and square in the battle of rock-paper-scissors.” Jinyoung said.

“You said men throw rocks so I did but you threw paper!” Yugyeom cried.

Jinyoung made an annoyed face. “That’s what people say to win the game, dummy.”

“Hey, you two kids, shut up.” Jackson says as he walks from the bathroom to his room with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, creating wet footprints on the floor and basically making a mess since he didn't make any effort to dry himself before stepping out of the bathroom.

“He’s getting annoying lately!”

“You’re making a mess, Jackson!”

Yugyeom and Jinyoung screamed at the same time. Jackson wanted to tell Yugyeom that Jinyoung being annoying is way better than him barely talking like in the past but didn't say anything because he got annoyed with Jinyoung scolding him. It’s rare that the three of them are at home or are awake at the same time but when they are, they are sure loud and chaotic.

It’s not even a second that they went quiet when their doorbell rings. Neither Yugyeom nor Jinyoung made a move to get the door. It rang a couple of times more before Jinyoung lightly, but aggressively, kicks Yugyeom to get it.

“What?” Yugyeom whines.

“Open the door.” Jinyoung said.

“No.” Yugyeom protested.

Jinyoung made a pissed face before sticking his hand out. “Rock-paper-scissors, real men use rock!”

Yugyeom, thinking he finally sees over the trick, smirks then throws scissors. But Jinyoung knows better. He throws a rock, winning the game.

Yugyeom was about to whine about Jinyoung cheating but the latter beat him to it, kicking him off the couch.

“Be a sport, kid.” Jinyoung said as he continues to kick the younger off the couch.

Yugyeom stands with a grunt, cursing Jinyoung mentally as he walks to the viewer.

“Who is it?” Jinyoung asked.

Yugyeom shrugs as he views the monitor. “I don't know but it’s a girl so it’s probably not your visitor. Jackson, you got a visitor!”

Jinyoung ignored his comment and simply takes over the whole couch in revenge.

“I’m not expecting anyone.” Jackson said as he walks out of his room, joining Yugyeom in the viewer, while drying his hair with another towel.

“Oh, that’s Jisoo.”

Jinyoung felt like all the hair in his body stood for a second before his heart started racing fast in his chest. He quickly got off the couch and runs to the viewer, basically crashing himself to his roommates—all because of too much excitement which he tried so hard not to show. And fails.

“Who is she?” Yugyeom asked.

A teasing grin flashed across Jackson’s face. “That’s Jinyoung’s girlfriend.”

“You have a girlfriend?” Yugyeom gasped.

“Shut up, you two.” Jinyoung mumbles.

Jackson and Yugyeom have their eyes fixed on Jinyoung—Jackson teasing him while Yugyeom is still in shock—while he has his fixed on the viewer, just letting it sink in that Kim Jisoo, his virtual girlfriend and the girl that has been giving him a different kind of sense these days, is in front of his door, most likely, looking for him.

Jisoo pressed the doorbell once again.

“So, are we gonna let her in or what?” Yugyeom asked.

Jinyoung collects his shit together. “Jackson, put some clothes on. And you, kid, go back to the couch.” He orders as he nervously walks to the door to open it.

Jackson and Yugyeom exchanged suggestive looks before doing as told.

Jinyoung takes a deep breath before opening the door.

“Hey,” He greets.

“Hey!” Jisoo greets excitedly with a sigh. “I thought I got the wrong address.”

Jinyoung smiled. “What’s up? What brought you here?”

“My feet.” Jisoo mumbles. “Aren’t you letting me in? Is this a no-girl pad?”

“No, no. Not really.” Jinyoung says.

“Hi, Jinyoung’s girlfriend!” Yugyeom cried, peeking over the couch.

“Hey, Jisoo. Long time no see.” Jackson, wearing a shirt but still on his towel, greets as he walks to the door and was about to give Jisoo a hug and she is horrified. Jinyoung quickly stopped Jackson with his arm and pushed him away.

“I told you to put something on!” Jinyoung hissed.

“Oh, sorry,” Jackson mumbles. “I got so excited to see Jisoo.”

Jisoo smiles awkward with a small wave.

Jinyoung sighs, turning to Jisoo. “Yeah, this is now officially a no-girls pad.”

 

 

“I’m assuming you didn't go all the way here just to eat ice cream in the playground?” Jinyoung asked.

They went for a little walk around Jinyoung’s neighborhood and ended up on the small playground just across the old convenience store where they bought ice creams.

Jisoo blushed. “I was around the area so I thought I’ll drop by.”

Jinyoung nods, an arrogant smile forming in his face. “At three in the afternoon? Shouldn't you be at work?”

Jisoo made a face. “You know I’ll do anything to get out of the HQ but you’re still not that special for me to skip work for. I was doing something for Fusion around here.”

Jisoo saw the slight disappointment in Jinyoung’s face. “And I came to give you this.” She says as she pulls out a book from her bag and hands it to Jinyoung.

Jinyoung reaches for it. “The Great Gatsby?”

Jisoo nods. “I came to give that to you—oh, I mean, lend. You have to give it back.”

Jinyoung chuckles as he scans through its pages with one hand. “But I’ve read it already.”

“Then, read it again.” Jisoo says. “You haven’t tried that? Re-reading a book?”

Jinyoung shakes his head innocently.

“Geez, you’re so plain.” Jisoo says which, luckily, Jinyoung didn't take offense. “You have to read it again. Re-reading a book gives the book so much more meaning. It’s like watching _The Sixth Sense_ or _Fight Club_ for the second time, after knowing the plot twist. Everything makes so much more sense and it gives you the benefit to see the things you probably missed because you’re too invested into figuring out the story when you first read it.”

Jinyoung looks at Jisoo, failing to hide his awe. Jisoo amuses him every time—with her wit, her thoughts, her vision—everything about her amuses him.

“And it could, you know, help you be calm when you can’t sleep at night.” Jisoo said with a beaming smile of pride as she licks her ice cream.

But words are weird sometimes. Jisoo said one thing and Jinyoung heard another.

“So, that’s why.” Jinyoung mumbles with a scoff.

Jisoo is puzzled. “What?”

“That’s why you gave me this book.” Jinyoung repeated. “You’re tired of staying up late for the calls.”

“What?” Jisoo asked in disbelief, annoyance is painted on her face. “I didn’t say that!”

“You know what, it’s okay. No one told you to stay up late for someone who’s afraid of nightmares like a kid.” Jinyoung pouted.

“What the hell? That’s not what I said!” Jisoo protested. “Can you please stop pouting like that? You always pout like that at the littlest things, you’re worse than my four-year-old niece who cries when someone takes her toy or something.” Jisoo is pissed. This is not what she envisioned when she skipped company lunch to pick up her car from the casa and go to Jinyoung’s place. This is not at all what she had in mind while digging her dusty bookshelf just to find her copy of _The Great Gatsby._ It’s not like she’s waiting for some big thank you card, but she at least didn’t want her small act of thoughtfulness to be misinterpreted like this.

“What? Pouty?” Jinyoung throws the cone of his ice cream across the playground, missing trash bin. “And you think you’re smart with your random beliefs? You just talk too much!”

No. Jinyoung doesn’t mean that; any of that but he’s offended and, he wouldn’t realize or admit it, but he’s scared that what Jisoo does for him is nothing but some charitable act for his poor soul.

But now he sees her eyes glistening in anger, obviously hurt, and he just wishes he can turn back time and the words he said.

Jisoo scoffed, turning away. “If that’s what you think then, fine. No calls from now on.”

She says sternly turning to walk away without a second glance.

“Fuck.” Jinyoung curses with an exhale, angry at himself.

 

 

Jinyoung sits up on bed, aggressively, frustrated at how he can’t sleep even when he’s been trying to shut his eyes for the past hour or so. He’s not even trying to sleep; he’s just trying to calm his chaotic mind.

He fucked up. He fucked up so bad and he’s pretty much aware of it. Why did he even tell Jisoo that? Why did he even have to bring up the calls? He didn’t mean any of that!

What is he going to do now? For once, after quite a long time, he felt happiness; he felt like himself again and Jisoo was a big part of that. Jinyoung doesn’t know what is it that is going on. No, he doesn’t want to know just yet. But now, he already ruined whatever it was.

Or maybe that’s what he really wanted. To destroy whatever it is that they have because he’s scared. He’s terrified of how big this is getting. She was supposed to be nothing but a distraction but he’s afraid he’s getting too attached and he won’t let that happen. Getting attached means getting hurt— he had too much of that.

He closes his eyes and he remembers Jisoo’s eyes glistening in pain and he just hates himself more. He has hurt her already. In the process of saving himself from a heartbreak, he has hurt the one person who makes him happy. Why does he always hurt the people who care for him?

He kicks himself off his bed then exits his room, straight to the door. He took his hoodie and put it on in one swift move.

“You’re going out?” Yugyeom, who is sitting in the couch watching late night cartoon, asked which Jinyoung ignored and went to put on his running shoes.

“You’re going for a run? It’s midnight!” Yugyeom said, as if stopping him when he turned to the door and found Jinyoung in his shoes.

Again, Jinyoung ignored him and walked out the door without saying a word.

“Where’s he going?” Jinyoung heard Jackson asked, he probably heard Yugyeom from his room, just before he shuts the door.

Jinyoung runs. He runs, with his steps heavy, not knowing where to go. He just lets his feet take him to wherever. He needs this—the rush, the adrenaline—to think. He is pretty sure he’s lost now and he can’t even call Jackson to pick him up because he left his phone at home, so he just continued running. He’ll deal with how to get home later.

He got distracted when he ends up in a long busy street with stalls lined up selling different food and other stuff. There are lots of people, locals and foreigners, around chatting and laughing, just spending too much money for things they don’t need.

Jinyoung slowed down and turned to that street. He is catching his breath as he walks, mindlessly looking at the stalls. He checked the pockets of his sweatpants for money, just in case he ends up buying something.

He was busy searching his pockets when a little boy bumped into his leg and ends up falling on the ground on his butt.

“Hey, kid!” Jinyoung exclaimed, quickly kneeling down to help the kid. “Are you okay? Where’s your mom?” He asks as he helps the boy stand up. Jinyoung couldn’t help but smile when the kid stood up effortlessly as if he didn’t just hit the floor.

“Does anything hurt?” Jinyoung asked to which the little boy answered with a polite shake of his head. Jinyoung then smiled wider and pats his head as he says, “Good boy.”

Jinyoung played with his hair for a while before he dusts off his clothes from the dirt after hitting the floor. That’s when he noticed the little boy is holding a round ornament with feathers below it—a dreamcatcher.

“Chul!” A woman calls from a far. It’s probably the kid because he turns as soon as he heard the voice and Jinyoung turned to the direction of the voice too and found a woman, looking like she’s around thirty or something, walking towards them.

“Mom!” The little boy, Chul, says as he runs toward his mom and throwing himself at her when he reached her.

“Are you okay? I was so worried when I turned around and you’re not there.” She says as she lifts the little boy. “Sorry, baby, mom got so distracted. I’m so sorry.”

Jinyoung just stood there quietly for a while, just staring at the thing the boy is holding, until the mother noticed him.

“Thank you so much, Mister.” The woman says bowing. “I’m sorry to trouble you. Do you need anything? I need to repay you.”

“No, Ma’am. You don’t have to.” Jinyoung politely declined. “I barely did anything. And Chul-ie is a brave boy.” He says giving the little boy a smile.

“Are you sure? Let me buy you something. I have to thank you.” The woman said.

“It’s really fine, Ma’am.” Jinyoung said. “But if you could, can you tell me where you bought that?” He said pointing to the dreamcatcher.

The woman turned to Chul and it was it was him who turned to the other side of the road and pointed.

“From the happy grandpa!” Chul said.

“Happy grandpa?” Jinyoung echoed.

The woman smiled. “He means the grandfather there at the end of the street. He is selling some handmade ornaments. You’ll recognize him easily because, well, he looks really happy. Huge smile plastered on his face.”

Jinyoung smiled, nodding. “Thank you.” He turned to Chul. “I’ll go ahead, strong Chul-ie.”

The woman nudged Chul and the little boy immediately bowed. “Thank you, kind Mister.”

Jinyoung smiled and pats his head again.

“Thank you. I’ll go ahead.” Jinyoung said and the woman thanked him one more time before they separated ways.

Jinyoung walked, going straight ahead as Chul pointed where the grandfather’s stall is. The woman was right. It’s easy to recognize the old man. No one was around his stall at that moment but the old man has a huge smile on his face, greeting the people passing by.

“Do you need something?” The old man asked with a welcoming smile when Jinyoung stopped a few steps away from the stall.

Jinyoung bowed lightly as he steps closer. He scans the stall of different handmade stuff—there are wooden combs with colorful beads, small wooden dolls that are imperfectly carved but still look beautiful, spoons and chopsticks. He scans the stall but he couldn’t see any dreamcatcher—at least not the same as the one Chul was holding. He almost missed it, but his eyes darted to it eventually. It’s a lot smaller than what was with Chul. It’s as small as a coin, but the weave is still intricately done with a brown string and three tiny feathers are hanging on it. A silver chain is looped around it making it simple, yet beautiful necklace.

“Are you having troubled dreams, young man?” The grandfather asked.

Jinyoung’s initial thought is to say yes; he’s having lots of them, all the time.

But then he remembers Jisoo’s random late night facts, riddles and childhood stories. He remembers her rants about work, Jennie and Jaebum. He remembers her dreamy voice and her soft laughter.

Jinyoung digs the money he got left on his pocket and handed it to the grandfather with a smile.

“Not anymore.”

 

***

 

Jisoo leans back on her chair with a heavy sigh—it was so heavy that Youngjae and Bambam turned their chairs to her direction, exchanging puzzled looks.

“What’s up?” Youngjae asked walking over her station.

Jisoo didn’t say a word in reply. She has her eyes closed and is breathing from her nose.

“Hey, did anything happen?” Bambam asks as he glides his chair behind Jisoo, checking on his friend.

“What’s going on?” Jaebum asks as he, Mark, Lisa and Rosé walk back to their area from their trip from the coffee shop across the building, buying coffee for everyone.

“Is there something wrong with the pilot?” Rosé asked Lisa as she hands Bambam and Youngjae their coffees and putting Jisoo’s on her table.

“It’s great!” Lisa replied. “People loved it.”

“Then what’s wrong with her?” Youngjae asked.

“PMS?” Mark suggested, leaning on his table.

“Oh, shut up.” Jisoo mumbles, straightening her back. “Can you not talk about me like I’m not here?”

“Dude, we were asking you but you weren’t answering.” Bambam said.

Jisoo just rolled her eyes, reaching for her Iced Americano then sipping it.

“Break time’s over, guys.” Dohwan suddenly appears from outside, glancing at his watch as he walks by. “Don’t you have work to do?”

They groaned and whined, not even trying to be discreet about it, as they walk back to their stations. Rosé is the only one who’s a little bit polite, bowing at Dohwan before walking to her chair from across the room. Lisa then starts pushing Bambam’s chair to his station while Youngjae makes car sound effects and Mark is laughing like a little kid. Jisoo remained unfazed on her seat, sipping her Americano, while Jaebum walks to his station, his eyes not leaving Jisoo.

“Drop it.” Jisoo irritatingly told Jaebum.

“What’s wrong?” Jaebum asked.

“Nothing.” Jisoo replied. “I’m just tired.”

Jaebum scoffed. “That’s exactly what people say when something’s wrong.”

“What do you want, Jaebum?” Jisoo asked.

Jaebum chuckled, happy at how Jisoo is annoyed already. “I’m just being a good friend here.”

Jisoo rolls her eyes. “Have you talked to Jennie?” She asks as she turns to Jaebum, sipping on her coffee. Now it’s her turn.

Jaebum’s smirk turned upside down. “I haven’t.” He says turning to his computer. “But I’ll do it. I promise.”

Jisoo’s eyes light up in excitement. “Really? You will? When?” She asks as she glides her chair closer to him. “Do you need some help?”

“Help?” Jaebum echoed. “Why would I need help with talking to her?”

Jisoo shrugs. “Maybe you need some grand gesture or something in getting back together?”

Jaebum made a face. “I’m not trying to get back with her. Not yet, at least.” Jisoo’s face showed disappointment then a tiny bit of hope flashed back. “I don’t know. But for now, I thought about what you said and I think I need to talk to her.”

Jisoo smiles. This is maybe enough for now.

“So, when will you do it?” Jisoo asked.

Jaebum shrugged. “One of these days. But we’ll have to deal with filming Jinji first.”

Jisoo’s face turned sour again.

“I knew it, there’s something.” Jaebum said. “What is it? Did you and Jinyoung fight?”

“Fight?” Jisoo echoes. “Why would we fight? Fighting with a petty man like him is like fighting with four-year-old.”

Jaebum made an irritated face. “What happened? You were so smitten over him the other day and now you’re annoyed?”

“I wasn’t smitten!” Jisoo protested, earning head turns from Youngjae and Lisa which made her blush. “I’m not smitten, okay? I said I cannot figure my feelings out, now I know. I’m just annoyed at him.”

Jaebum couldn’t help but laugh. “I can’t believe that my virtual couple is in a lovers’ quarrel.”

“It’s not a lovers’ quarrel!” Jisoo protested once again.

Jaebum grins. “Whatever. Just make sure you figure that out before our filming on Friday.”

“We’re filming on Friday?” Jisoo asked.

“Do you want me to make the schedule your wallpaper? You keep on forgetting our shoots!” Jaebum said. “We’re filming hiking date on Friday.”

 

 

“That’s where we’re hiking?” Jisoo asked pointing to the mountain where they’re filming the hiking date.

“That’s too high!” She exclaimed.

“What do you want to hike? A hill?” Mark, today’s cameraperson, asked with a teasing grin.

“But I’m afraid of heights!” Jisoo said.

“That’s what I thought too but you’re the one who put it on the list so I figured you’re okay with it.” Jaebum explained, looking at Jisoo trough the rearview mirror.

“That’s his idea!” Jisoo said pointing at Jinyoung who’s sitting in the passenger’s seat.

Jinyoung looked away, sort of hurt as he’s demoted to someone without a name now.

Jaebum made a face. “You can’t back out now, Jisoo. Everything’s settled. Besides, it’s okay if you’ll look clumsy and lame, Jinyoung will guide you and it’ll look good on cam.”

Jinyoung clears his throat awkwardly and Jisoo rolls her eyes as she leans back on her chair, arms crossed.

Lisa and Jaebum deals with talking with the management, bringing their permit and stuff while Mark sets up the equipment. Jisoo is helping him because she obviously doesn’t want to wait with Jinyoung.

Mark looks at her suspiciously as she checks the mics.

“What?” Jisoo asked.

“Why don’t you go talk to your boyfriend instead of bothering me here?” Mark mumbles.

“Hey, it’s not bothering when I actually get things done.” Jisoo said. “And for the nth time, he’s not my boyfriend.”

“Are you guys in a lovers’ quarrel?” Mark asked, ignoring the fact that Jisoo is close to firing up in annoyance.

“This thing will fly straight to your head if you don’t shut up.” Jisoo threatened to which Mark simply grinned.

“You’re obviously so annoyed.” He said.

“Cut it, Mark Tuan. I don’t even care about him.” Jisoo declared.

“Oh, you clearly care about him, girl.” Mark assured. “There’s no way you’ll be this annoyed if you don’t care about him.”

Of course, Jisoo is lying but she didn’t expect Mark to see through her this much so she just says, “You’re annoying when you don’t talk but you’re more annoying when you talk too much.”

Mark chuckles just as Jaebum and Lisa comes from talking to the manager, and Jinyoung walks towards the group.

“Okay, we’ll start filming in five. We’ll start on the front desk then you two will go straight to hiking.” Jaebum orders.

“But first off, you guys need to sign this.” Lisa says as she hands papers to the three. “Jaebum and I already signed ours.”

“A waiver?” Jisoo says as she scans the paper while Jinyoung and Mark are already signing. “This means this shit is dangerous! Are we sure about this?”

“Stop whining, please, and just sign it.” Jaebum said with an annoyed face.

Jisoo sighed heavily through her nose before eventually signing the waiver. Yes, she has fear of heights but when it comes to work, she’s willing to face her fears. It’s obviously not the heights that’s keeping her from working today.

Jaebum and Mark almost choked on laughing at how things changed once the camera starts rolling. Jinyoung and Jisoo are back on being a virtual couple.

Or so they thought.

They immediately went to the hiking track after filming their opening spiels at the lobby. It was a little bit colder today so they have their thick jackets on. There is a bit of struggle filming with the climate but it’s not like they’re not used to it.

The filming went smooth sailing at first—until they got tired and when you’re tired, acting is out of the options. So about the time they’re close to the peak, they’re barely filming. Mark, the only one who’s genuinely excited for this, went ahead on to the peak to wait for when they reach it and capture the couple. Lisa and Jaebum are on the end of the trail, continuously filming but are less eager now. Jinyoung and Jisoo has long dropped the act and are back to non-speaking terms again.

Jinyoung is ahead of a couple of steps when he turned to the panting Jisoo.

He held his arms out to Jisoo. “Take it.”

Panting, Jisoo shakes her head. “I’m fine. I can do it alone.”

“I know you can.” Jinyoung said, hand still held out. “But we’ll finish faster if we do it together.”

Jisoo shakes her head again. “It’s okay. I don’t want to be a burden that you’ll just let go when you got tired.”

Jinyoung was offended at first but he knows it’s just her pride talking so he simply made a face. “Why would I do that? I’m not shit like that.”

Jisoo looks away, not wanting to answer.

“Come on, Jisoo. Trust me.” Jinyoung insisted, stretching his arm closer. “I won’t let you go.”

Maybe Jisoo is tired but it’s definitely because of the guilt creeping into her that made her take Jinyoung’s hand. Being a bitch doesn’t suit her and it’s tiring. Also, she just can’t do this to Jinyoung.

Jinyoung couldn’t help but smile when Jisoo reached for his hand and the latter makes sure she has a poker face on so that it doesn’t look like she’s giving too easily—which doesn’t work that much on how tight she’s gripping his hand.

About a couple of minutes and kilometers of trail later, they have finally reached the peak where Mark is ready with his camera.

“Fuck yes!” Jisoo screamed raising her hands up while Jinyoung did some incomprehensible screams too.

They turned to each other before laughing hysterically because of the ecstasy of completing the task. They are in too much joy that they involuntary locked each other in an embrace. They held each other tight as if to congratulate each other before feeling the awkwardness of the hug and they quickly let go.

“Take fucking five guys.” Jaebum ordered, panting, once they have enough footages.

“Make that ten. Hours.” Lisa said after finishing a bottle of water and taking Mark’s when hers wasn’t enough.

Jinyoung and Jisoo catch their breaths too and refreshed themselves with water. There is something about being on top of a high mountain and in the ecstasy of climbing it that all the tension they had are now all gone, fading in the air.

They turned to each other at the same time and beamed into wide smiles.

“Sorry.” Jinyoung mumbles.

Jisoo’s smile softens. “Sorry.”

 

 

“I’m sorry for saying you talk too much.” Jinyoung says as they trek down the mountain.

There is obviously a change in their moods but neither Jaebum, Mark nor Lisa made a fuss about it. They’re grownups and grownups don’t tease each other over simple things like this. Maybe later, though, Lisa will ask Jisoo about what actually happened.

There is really power behind the word _sorry._ No matter how hurt you were, the simple word can lift the heaviest of burden in your heart so Jisoo smiled. “You’re right though. And it’s my charm.” Jisoo winked which made Jinyoung laugh.

“I’m not sorry that I called you petty.” Jisoo mumbles. Holding hands on their way down is pretty awkward and Jisoo’s hand is getting sweaty so instead, she has her grip tight on the strap of Jinyoung’s backpack.

Jinyoung’s face darkened. He wasn’t really expecting a grand apology or something, but he isn’t expecting such words too.

Jisoo smiled giddily seeing the change in Jinyoung’s reaction. “You are really petty,” she continued. “But it’s tolerable ‘cause your pout can be cute sometimes.”

Jinyoung face lights up. He couldn’t help but to beam in a wide smile and he didn’t bother hiding it anyway.

“Sorry.” Jinyoung repeated. “I guess I’m just scared. I thought you’re getting tired of me.”

Jisoo’s heart breaks at the confession. She feels bad that Jinyoung thinks that. She will never get tired of listening to Jinyoung and being there for him. Even if it’s hurting her.

“Sounds familiar.” Jisoo said, trying to lift up the mood.

Jinyoung thought about it for a moment until he remembered how Jisoo felt bad before in the sort-of same issue too.

“You know what,” Jisoo trails off as they pass by a difficult part of the trail. There is quite a big rock they had to step down from. Jinyoung was the first one to step down so Jisoo naturally lets go of the strap of his bag only to hold his hand for support as she gets down herself. “Thanks. Wait, what was I saying, again?”

“ _You know what_ ,” Jinyoung mumbles, imitating Jisoo whose eyebrows furrow before she remembers.

“Oh, yeah.” She mumbles as the continue with their trek. “I think we’ll just end up offending each other like this if we’re not transparent with each other.”

“Transparent?”

“Yeah. I think we should be more honest with each other.”

Jinyoung’s heart skipped a bit. He got nervous. Can he be truly honest with Jisoo? About his feelings?

“I mean,” Jisoo started. “About the calls, I’m not doing it because I’m obliged to—I think we’ve settled that before.” She laughs. “But just in case it’s not clear yet, I’m doing it and all of these because I like to.”

Jisoo pauses. She has never been good with confessing her feelings but she’s not too great at hiding it either. So, she’s always stuck in that awkward phase where she tries to tell someone about how she feels without actually spilling it hoping that the other person isn’t too dumb not to understand—just like today.

“I don’t know if it makes sense,” she continued. “But I guess I’m enjoying these dates with you now.”

_And I want to fix you and your broken heart_ —if Jisoo is being truly honest that’s what she should say. But she feels like that would push Jinyoung away so she left that part to herself.

Jinyoung has his eyes fixed on the road, not wanting Jisoo to see and read his expression. He doesn’t know what to say. Does he want her to know how he feels? Isn’t that too much? Opening up makes him vulnerable. What good will it make if he told her that he likes spending time with her too? She comforts him without even touching his wounds. She makes him happy. She calms his troubled heart. At this point, _likes to spend time with her_ is understatement.

But how about Jessica? Her name still sends shiver down his spine. What about her now? He clearly can’t let her go. She’s there etched in his heart and Jinyoung can’t erase her that easily. Is it really possible to for him to love again while still loving Jessica?

Jinyoung doesn’t know so he submits to cowardice and says, “Yeah, these dates are fun for me too.”

Jisoo is not expecting Jinyoung to tell her that he likes spending time with her too, not even that he likes the dates because of the companionship. She didn't set any bar of expectations on what Jinyoung thinks of their relationship—whatever it is that they have right now—and yet, it still sent daggers in her heart. But she knows how wounded he is. She knows how scared he is. So she accepts it, with a weak smile, she accepts it.

They continued their trek down quietly. Jisoo was trying hard to be casual as usual even though she’s hurting so much inside. She doesn't know if Jinyoung is just too dense or if he’s just letting it pass too but he seems like he’s in a good mood. That’s enough to make Jisoo feel a little bit better.

“Okay, real break for now. Lisa will give you keys for the rooms—the guys will share and girls has their own room.” Jaebum explains once they got back to the lobby, all tired. “Let’s have a three-hour break,” he instructs glancing at his watch. “Let’s meet at five for the wall climbing.

“Hey, Jisoo, I’ll just get the filming permit for the wall climbing,” Lisa told Jisoo, handing her the keys to their room. “Wait for me here.”

“Okay.” Jisoo agrees, taking the key, just as Lisa runs to the front desk.

“Hey,” Jinyoung tapped Jisoo.

“Hm?” Jisoo mumbles as he turns to him. He has a wide smile on his face and Jisoo can’t help but melt inside.

“I have something for you.” Jinyoung says as he dishes something from his bag.

“What?” Jisoo asked curiously waiting for Jinyoung.

“Here.” Jinyoung excitedly says as he hands Jisoo a small cloth pouch which Jisoo takes without hesitation, the exciting smile on her face is hard not to notice. “Peace offering.”

“What is this?” Jisoo asks as she opens the pouch and sees a crafty handmade dreamcatcher necklace. She looks up to Jinyoung and clarifies, “A dreamcatcher.”

Jinyoung nods. “It reminded me of you.”

Jisoo lightly laughs. “No offence, but don't you need it more than I do?” She regretted saying it an instant but the words already slipped from her mouth so she just hoped Jinyoung won’t take any offence.

Looks like he didn't because his smile just turned wider, like a little kid’s, as he looks at the dreamcatcher in Jisoo’s hands.

“I don't need that anymore.” He says then he turns to Jisoo, giving her a sincere, warm smile. “I already have you as my dreamcatcher.”

Maybe this is what Jaebum meant when he told Jisoo she should stop this before she gets broken too. Because as she holds this tiny thing on her hand and she sees his smile, so bright and warm, her heart breaks little by little knowing none of these matters.

It’s unfair. It really is. The wound in her heart caused by how Jinyoung downgraded what they have into simply fun dates is still fresh in her heart and yet, here he is, making her feel as if she’s the most special girl in his heart when he knows, they both know—hell, everybody knows—that she isn’t. How can Jinyoung do this to her?

More so, how can Jisoo let him do this? It’s a conscious choice that she made. Maybe she’s just too obsessed about making her friends feel better or maybe, in the process of it, she just genuinely want to fix him. Pick up the broken pieces of his heart and make it whole again, even though it means breaking herself in return.

Maybe it’s stupid but Jisoo believes that if you truly care for someone, you don't mind breaking yourself as long as they become happy.

 

 

“You were so scared when we were hiking earlier.” Jinyoung told Jisoo who’s looking so excited and ready to start climbing the wall.

They just finished preparing for the wall climbing activity for the second date they’re filming today—extreme sports. The wall they’re going to climb to is located at the open area part of the sports park, just outside the establishment and rooms, at the foot of the mountain they just climbed earlier. The location has the perfect view of the sunset so Jaebum is hoping things will go well so that, by the time Jisoo and Jinyoung reach the top, they will get the shot of the sunset too. Jaebum may look cold on the outside but he’s quite a romantic on the inside.

“It’s thrilling!” Jisoo exclaimed with a wide smile.

“I thought you hate heights.” Jinyoung mumbles, making sure the harness is perfectly tied around him.

“But this one’s different. It’s not too high.” Jisoo said with a shameless grin which just makes Jinyoung shake his head.

“So, you like heights.” Jinyoung said.

“Hell, no. It’s terrifying.” Jisoo replied. “But it’s thrilling. You know there’s a risk of falling and hurting yourself but you still go for it because it’s fun. There’s a different kind of thrill in falling, you know?” Jisoo turns to Jinyoung and found him looking at her with an unsure smile.

“Fear of falling. Of course, that’s thrilling.” Jinyoung mumbles as he nods his head.

Jisoo blushes realizing how that sounded. It is not in her intention to sound metaphorical. It’s actually a bit cringe-y now that she thinks about it. But if Jinyoung hears it that way, maybe he’s meant to do so.

“Okay, guys,” Jaebum mumbles once they’re done with the setup and are ready to film. “I know it’s going to be hard to look sweet and all while climbing, but please try.”

Jinyoung and Jisoo nod, just like professionals, and with that, they started acting.

For the episode, since the wall climbing alone can be boring, they had to interview a couple whose thing is to do extreme sports like wall climbing. The interview turned out to be fun. The guest couple is not at all stiff in front of the camera and are talkative in their own ways so with Jisoo and Jinyoung’s random jokes and their comebacks, it sounded like they know each other for quite a while.

After the interview, they had a mini game between the couple. The couple who reaches the top and gets down _gracefully_ first, wins. Jisoo and Jinyoung felt like they should let the other couple win since, well, they are the show’s guests but the couple told them they should try their best, so they did.

But the guest couple is way more experienced than they are. They are already near the top and neither Jisoo nor Jinyoung can keep up with them.

“Why did we even bother?” Jinyoung says, catching his breath as he pauses to wait for Jisoo, one hand on the rope and the other one reaching down to Jisoo.

Jisoo, naturally takes his hand to help herself lift up as she takes another step so they are on the same level.

“What the fuck, how can they do that so fast?” Jisoo said, panting.

Jinyoung manages to let out a soft chuckle. “I thought you like the thrill of it?”

“It turns stressful when you’re competing with someone.” Jisoo argued.

“Should we just give up?” Jinyoung asked.

“Why? They’ll think we’re wimps.” Jisoo said.

“We are wimps.” Jinyoung corrected.

Jisoo rolls her eyes playfully then laughs. “So what? We’re just gonna wait here until they finish? That’s even tiring.”

Jinyoung takes a deep breath. “Or we can fall.”

Jisoo shakes her head. “That’s gonna hurt.”

“There’s a foam down there. It’s going to be safe.” Jinyoung said. “And do you think I’ll let you get hurt?”

If they are still talking about wall climbing, neither of them knows anymore. Falling is scary. Falling means getting hurt—most of the time. There is always that tiny possibility that things go well and no one gets hurt.

“Come on,” Jinyoung says, reaching for her hand and takes it again. “If we get hurt, then we both get hurt.”

Jisoo holds on to that rare possibility in Park Jinyoung.

 

***

 

If there’s one good thing about being home for Jennie right now, it is probably waking up every morning in her childhood home. It is like she’s back on a high school break when she wakes up that smell of the breakfast being cooked. Aside from Jaebum, her mother’s cooking is one of the things that means home to her.

Just like today, Jennie wakes up from the soft noise from the kitchen. She can only remember how annoying it is for her back then when she hears the noise of pots and pans in the morning, little did she know that it is the subtle way of her mom to wake her up. But now, the same noise is like music to her ears, a sweet melody waking her up.

She gets up from bed while stretching her arms and yawns. She fixes her bed, humming some unknown tunes. Her life may be in a weird turn right now but in times like this, she loves to pretend that things are well and smooth sailing.

She gets down to their kitchen without bothering to change from loose shirt and sweatpants she wore to sleep last night. She excitedly walks to their kitchen and her stomach felt like it somersaults when she saw a man in their kitchen. Because she knows that there’s no way her dad can cook breakfast when he’s in some business trip abroad and she knows, she just fucking knows, that these broad shoulders can only belong to one person.

“You’re awake.” Jaebum said when he turned around to put the cooked rice on the kitchen table and found Jennie staring at him with wide eyes in shock.

Jennie could have screamed at him and tell him to go out of her house but the first thing her mind told her to do is cover herself with her arms, protecting herself from unwanted exposure.

“Oh, come on. As if he hasn’t seen those.” Mrs. Kim suddenly says as she enters, a bowl of kimchi in her hand, which she took from the back kitchen.

Jaebum went pale while Jennie turned red as a tomato and screams, “Mom!”

Mrs. Kim smiles cheekily. “Go get dressed. Breakfast is ready.”

Jennie exhales heavily, not really taking grasp of what’s going on, before giving Jaebum a sharp glare then walks back to her room to change.

Breakfast was impossibly tolerable. Jennie eats quietly and with much annoyance as Jaebum and her mother catches up as if she’s not there. Which turned out pretty useful because she learned that Jaebum has five cats now—four of whom, except his queen Nora—he has to put in a cat day care because his neighbors are complaining; his parents opened a new store downtown which is legally under his name; he says work is fine with faint smile but Jennie knows him too well and she knows that there is more than that. They’ve basically talked about everything that by the end of the meal, they are already talking about Jisoo and her new boyfriend.

Mrs. Kim is the first one to stand from the table.

“I’m leaving you two.” She says. “Make sure you clean my plates well.”

Before Jennie could protest, her mother has already gone back to her room.

Jennie turned to Jaebum, her eyes glaring sharply at him who can’t even look at her straight in the eye.

After a couple of minutes which felt like forever, Jaebum clears his throat then starts to clean up the table.

“What the hell are you doing?” Jennie asked, her voice too loud that it made Jaebum jump. He’s having a lot of morning arguments when Jennie scolds him for drinking too much the night before.

“Cleaning up after eating at someone else’s house like my mom told me?” Jaebum innocently replied.

“Im Jaebum!” Jennie cries in annoyance.

Jaebum couldn't help but chuckle. He then continued with cleaning up the table, bringing the plates to the sink to wash them. He looks around the sink then on the kitchen top cabinets as he asks, “You put your dishwashing gloves here, right?”

Jennie, with a deep sigh, gets up then walks to the kitchen. She opens one of the drawers. “Third drawer from left, remember? You know how my mom’s so obsessed with keeping things in order.” She did it so naturally, like the old times, that she only remembered what’s up when she turns to Jaebum to give the gloves and he’s watching her with soft smile.

She quickly turns away, blushing. She handed the gloves to Jaebum, aggressively, hitting his chest. Jaebum took it with a smile and went on with washing the dishes.

Jennie just stood there, her back leaning on the sink and arms crossed on her chest, as Jaebum does the dishes. He is softly humming some tune; Jennie can’t tell what song it is but it us sure familiar in her ears. Her tensed body naturally softens. Once Jaebum is done washing and is now rinsing the dishes, he puts the clean bowls on the side, just behind Jennie. Jennie then turns around, taking the dishtowel from the kitchen top, and starts drying the clean dishes.

They remained quiet for a while, both of them immersed in the chore and making most of the calmness. Knowing very well that when they start talking, things will get complicated once again. Before she could notice it, Jennie is already humming along with Jaebum and a soft smile gradually forms in her face.

They could only wish there’s more plates to wash though.

“Jisoo told me what’s up.” Jaebum finally mumbles after he finished doing the dishes and Jennie has a couple of plates and utensils to dry.

“Of course, she will.” She replied while drying a saucer.

Jaebum takes a deep breath. “You know she’s just doing that because she cares for her friends.”

“She cares too much.” She agreed.

He nods. “She cares too much it makes her stupid.”

She turned to him with a glare. “Hey, she’s still my best friend. You can’t talk about her like that.”

Jaebum shrugged with a guilty smile. Jennie then goes back to drying the dishes while Jaebum quietly watches her. The smile on his face stayed but it grew softer, calmer.

“Did I ever tell you I’m proud of you?” Jaebum suddenly mumbles.

Jennie didn't say anything so he continues, “I remember stumbling across that fashion channel on cable TV and you’re on, wearing some European brand I can’t even pronounce.”

Jennie laughs. “You? On a fashion channel? Bullshit, Jaebum.”

Jaebum turned pale, caught off guard and tiny bit offended.

He looks away. “I put my TV on the fashion channel once in a while, hoping I’ll get a glimpse of you or something.”

Jennie’s hands slow down as her heart breaks, as if it couldn't get any more broken. Jaebum walks closer to her. He took the dishtowel and spoon from her and starts drying the remaining utensils.

She’s mummed. She couldn't say anything. How can she say anything?

“You belong there.”

Just when she thought her heart couldn't break anymore, the tiny shards of her heart turns into fine dust, disappearing into nothing.

Jaebum finishes the remaining utensils then turns to Jennie. He stared at her profile before he continues, “I know you’ve already made a choice and you don't have to be guilty about it. Never feel bad about following what’s in your heart, right? That’s what you told me, right?”

Jennie couldn't answer. She’s shaking and her eyes are already tearing up.

“Hey, come here.” Jaebum says softly as he pulls Jennie in a hug. She then buried her head on his chest, letting her tears flow. He has one arm wrapped around her, the other one patting her head softly.

“Don't think too much,” he says. “Just do your thing and make me proud. Like you always do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why do I always make the sweetest moments into a big angst mess? lol
> 
> This chapter is 11/10 in cringe and corniness jfsgfshgskfj im sorry :( I was trying to put weight on the issue and I think it was too much? lmao but anyway, I hope it still made sense to you. if not, i'm so sorry kdkdkddkdkd
> 
> Anyway, I'd love to hear from you so please drop a comment or anything, I appreciate them very much!
> 
> Thank you <3


	9. Finale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stream Lullaby on YT and k-music sites! GOT7 fighting! <3

“So, you guys are back together?” Jisoo asked Jaebum after dragging him out in the corridors of the Karaoke place.

On its seventh week, Jinji has hit ten million accumulated views and their official Instagram account has over a million followers by now. It’s not much of a shocker for a Post It series, but considering that it’s a new series, it’s something to be celebrated. As soon as they got out of the conference room for their monthly meeting, they have already planned their celebration and that is a night at the Karaoke place where they filmed one of the episodes.

Everyone from the Post It crew is there. Jinyoung also tagged Jackson and Yugyeom along because, why not? It’s not a private party anyway. The Post It gang is quite familiar with Jackson since he has been in some of their videos. As for Yugyeom, he surprisingly hit it off with the group easily. Especially with Bambam, they both belong to the same weird wavelength.

What surprised the group though, except Yugyeom who has no idea what the heck is going on, is when Jaebum excused himself for a while and comes back with Jennie walking shyly behind.

It was so dramatic (as dramatic as Jisoo’s drunk episode) their mouths were literally hanging open. Youngjae and Jackson went mute in the middle of singing a Big Bang song; Bambam let out a loud _what_ and Rosé squealed of excitement or horror, nobody knows.

Jaebum replied with a tired sigh. “No.”

“Then why did you come here together? What’s going on?” Jisoo asked frustratingly. As usual, her best friends are giving her a headache.

“We’re good. And I told her she should go back to Milan.” Jaebum finally explains making Jisoo even more frustrated.

“Bullshit!” She exclaims. “That’s totally bullshit. A lot more bullshit than your first breakup.”

Jaebum made a face. He’s starting to get annoyed. “You said I needed to talk to her and, you know what, she doesn’t need any convincing. She needs assurance and that’s the least that I can give her.”

Jisoo’s heart breaks, finally realizing what’s happening. Jennie and Jaebum are, once again, letting go.

“That’s so stupid. You know that, right?” She couldn’t help but say.

Jaebum scoffed. “You can’t be the only who’s stupid here.”

Jisoo involuntarily reaches for the dreamcatcher necklace Jinyoung gave her before looking away.

“What happened?” Jaebum asked.

A part of Jisoo wants to say that Jaebum’s right. She is stupid and she is getting hurt. She is now breaking like he told her. But it’s a question she doesn't want to answer. It’s a question that she herself doesn't even want to face.

“Hey guys, get inside.” Youngjae suddenly pops out from their room, surprising Jaebum and saving Jisoo from an obvious interrogation. “Jackson and Mark are planning the finale.”

“Finale? What finale?” Jaebum asks, brows in furrow.

“Jinji’s finale. C’mon.” Youngjae replied, instantly disappearing to the room again.

“ _My_ finale?”

“ _Our_ finale?”

They have filmed a total of ten episodes for the whole season; two more to go and they’re officially ending the first season. Jaebum had it all planned out. They usually go big when it comes to finale. For Jinji in particular, Jaebum allotted about half of their small production budget. He booked one vineyard for filming—all of it. The place is not even open for filming or to the public but Jaebum exerted everything he can—charm and funds combined—just to make this possible. It’s a crazy move but Jaebum wants to show Dohwan that he is more capable than he thinks he is.

Jisoo and Jaebum said in chorus before turning to each other and sprinted inside the karaoke room.

“Jaebum, my man! Where have you been?” Jackson says as he walks to Jaebum, wrapping his arm around him while Jisoo shuts the door behind them.

“We were just planning the finale.” Jackson says. “Jinji finale.”

“Why the hell are you planning _my_ finale?” Jaebum asked, eyes sharp at Jackson.

Jinyoung sighs. “Told you he’ll get mad.”

“Hear me out, Jaebum.” Jackson calmly said. “Jinyoung and Mark told me that you guys are going to the countryside vineyard for the finale?”

Jisoo doesn't know about this, she probably heard about it but forgot about it now—as usual, so she shot Jaebum a look as if to confirm.

Jaebum nods. “But that is after we film one more episode. We have to squeeze in camping episode first, it's a bonus.”

Jackson suddenly claps his hands, nodding. “I’ve got a proposition to you.”

Jackson says it so dramatically as if he’s some Chinese merchant from the eighteenth century. Rosé and Lisa couldn't help but giggle while Mark and Jinyoung are just shaking their heads in the back.

Jaebum, obviously annoyed and impatient, walks to the couch and slumps himself beside Jennie—but with enough distance between them.

“Just cut to the chase, Wang.” He says.

Jackson frowned. “You sure know how to kill the mood, eh?” he sighs. “Anyway, I know this place near the vineyard you’re going to and you can film the camping there. It’s an old house on top of the hill with a wide garden—sort of extension of the woods—whatever, it’s perfect for stargazing. Trust me, I’ve been there it’s great.”

Jaebum smirked. “Which girlfriend did you bring there?”

Jinyoung burst into laughter. “The place is his ex-girlfriend’s.”

Jaebum turned to Jackson with a look of disbelief. “We’re breaking into your ex’s house?”

Jackson made a face. “It’s not breaking in if she gave me a key to the place and she’s not my ex, she never even been my girlfriend. She’s just a friend.”

“Oh, Jackson,” Jennie shakes her head, laughing. “I almost forgot how much of a player you are. You put Joey Tribianni to shame.”

Jackson, instead of being embarrassed, seems proud that he shot Jennie a flirty wink. “ _How you doi_ —“

“So, what’s in it for you?” Jaebum quickly cuts him off.

“What do you mean? There’s nothing in it for me here.” Jackson smirks. “Because all of us are going!”

“What?” Jaebum exclaimed.

“All of us. Let’s go on a trip!” Jackson announced excitedly. “Oh, it’s going to be fun!”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Jaebum panics. “It’s a shoot! It’s not a trip!”

Yugyeom shrugs. “Where Jackson goes, I go.”

“Oh, come on Jaebum, you need our help anyway.” Bambam said. “I’ll film for the camping episode.”

“I’m in for finale!” Youngjae announced.

“I’m already in the crew list.” Mark mumbles.

Lisa then scoots over beside Jaebum. “Hey, we could actually use Jackson’s girlfriend’s place for the camping. Remember we’re short on the funds for the camping episode already. If we go to that place, we are not paying _anything._ We’re practically saved from getting bankrupt. And we checked the place, it’s literally thirty minutes away from the vineyard.”

“You’ve already checked that?” Jaebum asked.

“I got excited for the trip!” Lisa says in guilt.

“So, is that a yes, Director Im?” Jackson says.

Jaebum sighs heavily in surrender. “Okay, okay. But it’s going to be a two-day shoot, three-day max, I’m not gonna be responsible if Dohwan came looking for your asses. You know this is still a guerrilla series, I can’t excuse you from work.”

“Oh, fuck him. I’ll do anything to skip work.” Bambam said to which both Mark and Youngjae agree.

“Jackson, talk to that girlfriend of yours and ask formal permission.” Jaebum orders. “We can’t just film without permission.”

“Don't worry about that, she’ll answer the call on the first ring.” Jackson promised with a wink that Jaebum didn't buy.

“Hold on,” Rosé says. “You’re all going on a trip without me?”

“No one’s getting left behind,” Jennie mumbles, wrapping her around Rosé. “File a leave. We’re coming too.”

The group then started making noises in celebration. Youngjae plays some fun trot song and Mark took one of the microphones just making random noises. Yugyeom and Bambam stood from their seats and started dancing. It didn't take long before Lisa and Rosé joined them too. Jackson went out for a call, and as expected, his girl friend (emphasis on the space in between) answered.

Jisoo, who was just standing by the door the entire time, walks to the couch and sits next to Jennie with a huge smile on her face. This was an unexpected group, with the addition of Jinyoung, Jackson, and Yugyeom, but it feels like they have all been friends for a really long time. It warms her heart seeing her friends all having fun, it’s as if her heart isn’t too fragile right now.

 

***

 

Jisoo yawns, bored and tired from editing Fusion’s episode for the entire day, stretching her arms up. She has been on her desk for the past five hours, butt glued on her chair, only getting up to get food from their vendo machine.

“Take a break.” Youngjae mumbles as he walks in from having an afternoon snack break with a friend outside.

“Yes.” Jisoo lazily says, her eyes closed. Youngjae chuckled, playfully hitting Jisoo on her head with his ID as he passes by.

Jisoo takes a deep breath, making herself awake as she stands up. She walks, straight to HQ’s mini balcony to get some fresh air. She walks back and forth, jumping and skipping too, anything to make herself awake.

She walked back and forth a couple of times more with her head up, eye closed, as she wiggles her body when she hit something. Her nose hitting something firm which feels like someone else’s chest. She took a light sniff, eyes still closed, and the perfume smells so familiar she felt her heart racing in an instant.

She took a step back and opens her eyes, a grinning Jinyoung is looking at her.

“Did you just sniff me?” He asked, leaning his head down closer to Jisoo, hands on his pocket.

Jisoo blushed. “I didn’t! Why would I do that?”

He simply shrugged with a teasing smile and she took a deep breath of fake annoyance before stepping back inside the HQ, Jinyoung following her behind.

“What are you doing here?” Jisoo asks as they walk inside.

“I’m filming.” Jinyoung replied.

Jisoo’s brows furrow. “Filming? We have a shoot today?” She asks turning to him.

Jinyoung shakes his head as they stop on Jisoo’s desk. “Bambam invited me for one of his videos.”

“That is right.” Bambam suddenly pops, stealing one of Jisoo’s highlighter and scribbles something on the script he has in hand. “Jinyoung is starring in first non-Jinji video.”

“What?” Jisoo asked. “Why didn’t I know this?”

Jinyoung looks guilty while Bambam has a wide teasing smile on his face.

“Oh, does boyfie needs permission from you?” Bambam teased making both Jisoo and Jinyoung embarrassed.

“Shut up, Bambam!” Jisoo cries snatching her highlighter from him.

Bambam simply laughs and takes another highlighter then goes back to his script.

Jisoo sighs. “You didn’t tell me you’re doing a video.”

Jinyoung gave her a teasing look.

She rolls her eyes. “I meant, you didn’t—ugh. Never mind.” She yawns to which Jinyoung chuckles.

“Didn’t get enough sleep?” Jinyoung asked.

“Yeah, someone was snoring so loud.” Jisoo replied.

Jinyoung smiled in guilt. “You should’ve just hang up.” She’s referring to him. He ended up falling asleep mid-call last night and Jisoo didn’t bother hanging up, his snore was actually soft and was like a lullaby.

Bambam gives the two a puzzled look as he puts the highlighter back to Jisoo’s desk. Jisoo simply looks away and Jinyoung clears his throat.

“Wanna go out for coffee?” Jinyoung leans in to whisper.

Bambam then sighs, done with the two’s subtle flirting, and walks back to his station.

“Yes,” Jisoo groans reaching for her tumbler. “But in the pantry. I’m too sleepy to go outside.”

Jinyoung snatches the tumbler before Jisoo takes it. “Come on, you need the sun to wake you up.”

“It’s too cloudy. The sun is barely seen.” Jisoo tries, very weakly, to snatch her tumbler back. “Give that back.”

“Not until we go for coffee.” Jinyoung moved the tumbler farther away with a smug smile.

“Please. I’m too sleepy to play.” Jisoo whined, now leaning over her table to reach for the tumbler.

They went back and forth, Jisoo trying to get her tumbler and Jinyoung barely doing anything to keep it from her while chuckling, his eyes forming wrinkles on the side. Soon enough, Jisoo is giggling too, her nose crunching as she tries—and fails—to keep herself from giggling.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake just go out.” Jaebum suddenly appears, snatching the tumbler from Jinyoung and surprising the two. “You’re eye-soring.”

Jisoo and Jinyoung went mummed. Jinyoung pursed his lips while Jisoo turned her smile upside down.

“Let’s go.” Jinyoung whispers, grabbing Jisoo’s hand and pulling her out of the HQ.

The act was so natural that none of them even noticed that they were holding hands until they were out of the elevator and people were looking at them. They immediately let go of their hands and walked in silence to the coffee shop near HQ. Since Jisoo needs the sun to wake her up, they got their coffees to-go then went for a short walk around.

“Are you awake now?” Jinyoung asked, peeking over at Jisoo.

Jisoo replied with a smile. “I guess so.”

“What did you film with Bambam?” Jisoo asked.

Jinyoung smiled at how curious Jisoo is about him. “Just some first impression on this new camera.”

Jisoo nods with a soft _hmm_ as she sips her iced Americano.

“You’re wearing it.” Jinyoung mumbles, peeking over at Jisoo, after a short moment of silence.

Jisoo blushed, instantly reaching for her neck. “Yeah.”

Jinyoung smiled widely, eyes both proud and shy.

They walk in silence on their trip back to the HQ but neither of them is pressured to fill in the silence. There’s something about this newfound habit that they have. All the awkwardness is gone and it’s replaced with nothing but comfort. It’s the comfort that both of their hearts know. It’s the comfort of knowing they belong to each other; in this moment.

 

***

 

“Good morning! Good morning! Welcome to The King!” Jackson greets Jisoo and Jennie as they walk to him.

“You rented a bus?” Jisoo asked, eyes wide in surprise.

“A _mini_ bus.” Jackson corrected humbly. “I call it _The King.”_

The girls exchanged looks before entering the bus, linking arms.

Everyone is almost there when they got in. Bambam and Yugyeom, an unexpected yet not surprising new duo, is sitting at the end of the bus—occupying all six seats there, just like the popular kids at school. There is another unoccupied seat with a fancy bag on it, it’s probably Jackson’s. In front of the noisy duo, Lisa and Rosé are together in one double seat, the single seat adjacent to them are filled with their things. Youngjae is sitting on a single seat, already fast asleep. Jisoo wonders how was he even able to get up early in the morning to be here.

Ideally, Jisoo and Jennie would sit on the double-seat in front of the girls but before Jisoo can even point at the seat, Jennie releases her arm from hers and went straight to sit beside Jaebum. Of course.

Jisoo sighs, shaking her head and giving Jaebum a teasing look before walking further inside the bus. She considered sitting in the single seat in front of Youngjae but he sings, real loud in that matter, in his sleep that Jisoo won’t even concentrate reading a book during the trip so she went to the seat in front of Lisa and Rosé instead.

She settles herself in the seat, aiming to be alone since she’s not much of a talker during trips. She sat on the side of the window and puts her bag on the empty seat beside her. She put her neck pillow on her neck, puts her earphones on and took her book from her bag. She didn’t bring any food but she knows Rosé couldn’t go on a trip without packing any snacks, so she’ll just snatch some from her when she got hungry. She’s now equipped for this almost-six-hour trip and ready to bury herself in her book, when Jinyoung arrived and stopped by her seat.

Jisoo looks up and found him standing by the end of the seat, a faint smile in his face.

“What?” She asks, removing one of her earphones.

Jinyoung didn’t say anything and instead took Jisoo’s bag, put it on the overhead compartment together with his things, then sits beside her.

“Excuse me?” Jisoo mumbles.

“What? I like this seat.” Jinyoung replied, reclining the chair and hitting Rosé’s knee.

“Hey!” Rosé exclaimed.

Jinyoung quickly turned behind. “Sorry!” He apologized. “Hey, is that yoghurt almonds? Give me some, please.”

“Oh, sure!” Rosé exclaimed, digging her back for a small pack and handing it to Jinyoung.

“Thanks!” Jinyoung said as he takes it and sits right back all while Jisoo is watching him.

“What? You want some?” Jinyoung asked.

“She’ll just eat all of it.” Lisa butts in throwing another pack over and hitting Jisoo in the head. “There.”

“Hey, that hurts!” Jisoo exclaimed but taking the almond anyway. She opens it and started eating.

Mark, the last person to arrive, hops in the bus and Jackson came after him announcing that it’s time to leave. Jackson had some monologue going on just like a tour guide but none of them is having it so, with a whine, he just takes a sit on the first row, too petty to sit with the guys on the back.

Just like all tired adults, most them went straight to take a nap as soon as the bus starts moving. Except Lisa and Rosé who are watching some kdrama on Lisa’s phone and both Jisoo and Jinyoung are buried on their books.

Jinyoug turned to Jisoo who is calmly reading. Her eyes fixed on the book and her lips are moving, it’s as if she’s reading with her lips but she is actually singing along to whatever song she’s listening to. Jinyoung couldn’t help but smile. Even simply watching Jisoo in her most natural self is making his heart warm.

“What are you reading?” Jinyoung asks softly.

“Huh?” Was all Jisoo could say, full attention is on her book.

“What are you reading?”

“ _The Help,_ Kristen Stockett.” Jisoo mumbles.

“What is it about?”

Jisoo looks a little bit irritated now because of being interrupted which Jinyoung is pretty much enjoying. She sighs and answers in her remaining patience, “About black maids in the sixties.”

Jinyoung then snatches the book she’s reading, surprising and immediately annoying her.

“Hey!” Jisoo protested in much irritation but before she can even say more, Jinyoung handed her the book he’s reading.

Jisoo’s eyebrows furrow.

“Read mine, I’ll read yours.” Jinyoung said as he scans the back cover of Jisoo’s book.

Jisoo then looks at Jinyoung’s book. “ _Norwegian Wood_? I’ve read this before.”

Jinyoung turns to her and shots her an all-knowing look. “What happens to _the beauty of re-reading a book?_ ”

Jisoo couldn’t help but smile, a little bit too giddy that she had to turn to the window to hide her flushed face.

 

 

“Okay, time for stopove—“

“Shh. Some people are sleeping.” Youngjae softly interrupts Jackson.

“That’s my point, Youngjae.” Jackson said softly. “To wake people up for the stopover.”

Youngjae shrugged. “I don’t think they want to wake up.”

Youngjae has his eyes focused ahead and when Jackson followed his sight, his eyes light up at the beautiful scene in front of them—Jaebum and Jennie are sleeping soundly. Jaebum has his arms around Jennie’s waist while her head is buried on his chest, his chin is resting calmly on her head, their fingers are interlaced together and even their breathing are uniformed softly.

“Are they official now? Like, for real?”

It’s almost the same question that Youngjae and Jackson had in mind for the couple in front of them but the voice came from neither of them. They turned to the side where the voice is coming from and found Rosé and Lisa standing on the aisle just like them, watching another couple. Jisoo and Jinyoung are fast asleep too. Jinyoung’s head is resting on Jisoo’s shoulder while hers is resting on his head. Jinyoung is a lot taller than Jisoo so he was slouching a bit to reach her shoulder—it was obvious that an effort was made in achieving that position. Their books are on top of their laps, one of Jisoo’s hand is on top of Jinyoung’s book.

“ _Ohh._ ” Jackson mumbles as he and Youngjae steps closer.

“I don’t know,” Rosé says answering Lisa’s previous question as she takes her phone from her pocket and takes a photo of the two. “But this needs to be documented.” She says with a sly smile.

Lisa sighs. “I kinda want them to be an actual couple.”

“They’re so alike.” Youngjae mumbles. “They could really be a couple.”

“Is it just me or Jinyoung is a little bit better now?” Rosé says checking the photos she took and then takes a few more. “I mean, from the first time I met him versus now, he seems brighter, friendlier.”

Jackson felt so proud hearing it from someone else—how Jinyoung is becoming better—and he knows it’s all because of Jisoo.

“It’s the Jisoo effect.” He says and nobody said anything. No words are needed, they all know it’s true.

They stood there for a little longer, waiting for Rosé to pick the best photo, until Jisoo suddenly moves and wakes up realizing people are watching.

“What’s up?” She says, her voice a bit hoarse. “Is anything—” she froze when she realized what’s going on and Youngjae flashed her a teasing smile. Jisoo blushed not knowing what to do, she can’t move because moving will wake Jinyoung up and she doesn’t want to disturb him—or is it because she just don't want this to end?

She must have been shaking from embarrassment because Jinyoung eventually moves, waking up. He turned to their friends who are watching them, giving them a puzzled look. It took him a quarter of second to realize what’s going on and quickly detached himself from Jisoo, mumbling a soft sorry as he did so.

Jackson draped his arm around Youngjae and turns him to exit the bus. “C’mon guys, let’s give the love birds some time alone.”

Lisa and Rosé giggles.

“Watch out for Jinji’s IG post in a while!” Rosé says just as she steps down the bus.

Jinyoung and Jisoo exchanged awkward looks before turning away, totally embarrassed.

Jisoo discreetly wipes her lips and chin just to make sure she was presentable when sleeping.

“Are you going down?” Jinyoung randomly asks just to break the awkwardness.

“Huh? Uh… n-no, I’ll just stay here. You?”

Jinyoung shakes his head. “I’ll stay here too.”

“O-okay.” Jisoo mumbles as she moves closer to the window and farther from Jinyoung just to make sure they won’t end up in each other’s shoulders again then goes back to reading his book.

They didn’t stay too long at the stopover station. Just a couple of minutes later, they went back on the road. It took them about two more hours until they reached the countryside and arrived at the cottage.

As Jackson said, it’s located on top a hill. The cottage is not too big, with two bedrooms, one spacious living room and a tiny kitchen, it’s just enough for the group. Some will just sacrifice and spend the night at the living room but it seems like it’ll be fine since there is a fireplace to make then warm. It was the backyard that was pretty impressive. It indeed looks perfect for a camping and stargazing night. It’s as big, if not a little bit bigger, than the house and is stretching to the forest. About three small tents can fit the area but since they’re filming and they need space for lights and camera, they will only put up one tent.

They had late lunch and a quick rest before they started setting up. For the camping episode, Jisoo and Jinyoung will be filmed putting up the tent then they’ll cook camping food before they settle into the tent for sleep, like what camping should be. Jackson suggested they make a bonfire which everyone rejected at first because it sounded dangerous but Jackson insisted it’s safe since he has done it before. So, eventually, Jaebum agreed.

They quickly start setting up, wanting to have natural light when they put up the tent. All of them are participating in the shoot. Mark and Jaebum are putting up the cameras, Youngjae and Bambam on the lights, Lisa is checking the audio and the mics. The non-Post It people are helping too. Jackson, Yugyeom, Rosé and Jennie are prepping the things they need for the episode like food, the tent and even tried figuring out how the fling works so it will be easier when they do the bonfire on cam.

The filming went well. Jinyoung is surprisingly good with camping. He and Jisoo were able to put up the tent with no trouble at all. The bonfire took a little bit time because of the wind but Jisoo eventually figured out the direction of the wind and adjusted to it. For the camping food, Jisoo took pride, of course. It’s not tough dishes though. They made army stew and grilled some meat. By the time they’re making smores with the bonfire, the night has already taken in. It’s pitch dark. They had to take a quick break from filming to adjust the lights. Now, they just have one dim light on and everything is with the bonfire. It’s a beautiful shot, the fire is illuminating their faces as they laugh talking about some camping story Jinyoung is sharing. There’s something about the way Jinyoung and Jisoo’s smiles light up that the group don’t feel tired at all, watching them is quite therapeutic to them right now.

In about six hours, they are officially done filming. Once Jaebum shouted cut, Jackson came to the set clapping hard and loud congratulating the crew. Instead of cleaning up, they gathered around the bonfire and have their own camping. They added more packs of ramen and sausages to the remaining stew, grilled more meat and Yugyeom brings out the alcohol he bought while everyone is busy filming.

“Hey Jisoo, give some. You already had stew a while ago.” Mark says as Jisoo takes a big bite of the stew.

“She didn’t eat much a while ago because she didn’t want to look like she eats too much on cam.” Bambam commented.

“Hey!” Jisoo cried looking annoyed before beaming into a wide smile. “You’re right.”

“Okay, so aside from Jackson, obviously,” Rosé says and Jackson looking at her in puzzle. “Who else have had a camping date?”

No one seems interested at first but she continued, “I posted about this on Jinji’s IG. Saying something like countryside date, as to not spoil anyone,” she clears before Jaebum could react. “And a lot of them are excited saying it _should_ be a camping date. Is it really that date-worthy?”

Lisa is the first one to answer. “I think it’s romantic. I remember having a crush on summer camps when I was young and I’d always think we’re in a weekend date or something.” She finishes off with a giggle.

“Summer camps are for kids, right?” Bambam reacts. “You were eight years old and you already had date in mind?”

Lisa blushed then immediately rolled her eyes.

“We went camping once, right?” Jennie asks, turning to Jaebum.

“We did?” Jaebum replied after taking a sip from his beer.

“You don’t remember? We went camping on the eve of my birthday. We were even stargazing when it turned midnight, officially, my birthday.” Jennie explained and Jaebum still looked clueless. “God, you’re so annoying.”

Jaebum suddenly smiled widely. “I’m just messing with you. Of course, I remember!”

Everyone is just watching them. It’s fun seeing them again together but it’s weird that they aren’t supposed to be a couple now and yet they act like one.

“And they say they’re not back together.” Jisoo whispered as she leans closer to Jinyoung.

Jinyoung chuckled. “Liars.”

“How about you, Jinyoung? Have you been on a camping date before?” It was Rosé who asked. Everyone who knows what’s up with Jinyoung tensed. Jackson’s eyes widened while Jaebum’s chin tensed involuntarily.

Jisoo turns to Jinyoung, examining him. He has a smile on his face but it’s obviously forced, his eyes darkened. Eventually, he answered by shaking his head.

“Camping isn’t a thing in New York, eh?” Jisoo whispered, trying to make the mood lighter. “I thought it’s the concrete jungle?”

That’s what crack Jinyoung up. It was a really lame joke but it was enough to make him laugh. He shakes his head laughing and Jisoo joined him in a soft laughter.

“Hey, Jisoo, you did go on a camping date, right?” It was Jennie who asked. Her memory on camping is quite impressive.

“I did?” Jisoo says turning to her best friend, thinking. “Oh, yeah! With Minhyuk!”

“Minhyuk?” Bambam asked. “You dated a Minhyuk?”

“What’s up with a Minhyuk?” Lisa curiously asked.

“Nothing. It’s just too common. I think I know seven Minhyuks.” Bambam answered to which Lisa just sighed.

“Wait, hold on, Minhyuk the politician?” Jaebum asked.

“You dated a politician?” Rosé asked, wide eyes.

Jisoo burst into laughter. “He’s not a politician. We dated in college and he’s a student leader. He’s good at it so Jaebum kept on insisting he’s going to be a politician or something. But he actually hates politics.”

“Oh, gosh, I remember he was this really nice guy. Your best boyfriend ever.” Jennie told Jisoo before turning to Jinyoung. “No offense, Jinyoung.”

They all burst into laughter except Jinyoung who took a while before laughing along.

“Well, he was indeed my _the one that got away_.” Jisoo says.

“Well, he got away for a reason.” Jinyoung mumbles after a long sip of beer.

They tensed, not really knowing how to react. Jisoo turned to him and shot him a look of disbelief. Jinyoung remained unfazed for a while until eventually laughing. It was a rather awkward laughter but Jackson joined him afterwards as too ease up the mood.

“Let’s cheers, guys!” Jackson announced, lifting his beer. “For Jinji!”

It was effective because everyone, except Jisoo who is still puzzled, immediately raised their cans, meeting on top of the bonfire.

“It’s a joke.” Jinyoung told Jisoo just a raises his glass. Jisoo simply sighs, shaking her head as she, being the last one, raises her can. They clinked their cans together as they all scream Jinji and went on with taking big gulps of beer.

The night went on as expected. It was as if there’s unlimited beer. They didn't really care about the fact that they have another filming for tomorrow—they’re filming the day after of the camping before going to the vineyard—they just collectively decided to forget about it now and focus on enjoying the night. Enjoy now, suffer later.

“What was that about?” Rosé asked Jisoo. They are on the cottage, sitting on the porch, as the boys go wild in the bonfire.

“I don't know.” Jisoo shrugged taking a sip of her beer.

“Are you guys together now?” Rosé added making Jisoo choke on her drink.

“What? No!” Jisoo denied.

Lisa and Jennie chuckled, enjoying how Jisoo is so flustered.

“I mean, you’re doing so great with your fake relationship. If I don't know what’s really going on, I’ll totally buy that you’re a thing.” Rosé explained. “And in the bus a while ago? You guys are practically holding hands while sleeping.”

“We weren’t!” Jisoo denied once again, this time she’s red as a tomato.

“Why are you even denying so hard? I mean, what’s wrong if you guys become real? You’re single, he’s single—I mean, why is he even stuck in this setup if he isn’t—and you look awfully good together.” Lisa mumbles. “I don't see anything wrong with you two becoming a couple.”

Jisoo sighed heavily. “We just aren’t, okay? It’s not that easy.”

“But you like him, don't you? It’s obvious that you do.” Lisa said.

Jisoo’s eyes widened. “It’s obvious?”

Lisa grinned while Rosé nodded.

“We just know you too well, Jisoo.” Rosé said. “I don't think you’ll be stuck in here if you don't like him.”

“But hey, it’s the good kind of obvious.” Lisa says. “I swear, I’m with you two almost every time and you both look in love. It’ll honestly be a shame if you don't end up together.”

“Exactly!” Rosé agreed. “So, just go there and tell him. I don't even think you need some confession or something. Looking at you two right now, you just need a label for it.”

Jisoo felt a sharp pang into her chest. It’s scary how people see her and Jinyoung and think that they’re in love when she knows it’s a lot more complicated than that. Even though she knows exactly what she feels, she will never let herself be vulnerable and admit to it—as if what she’s doing to herself right now isn’t being too vulnerable yet.

But that is not what’s important to her. What is important for her right now is him. All that she wants right now is for him to be better. Her care for her own heart has long been gone; she just wants Jinyoung to be whole right now; to come back in terms with himself. She just hopes he learns to let go of the burdens he has in his heart and be happy once again. Just that and nothing more.

“Hey, you guys,” Jennie suddenly mumbles, putting an arm around Jisoo and pulling her in a warm side hug, comforting her as if she can read her best friend’s mind. “Stop interrogating Jisoo. It’s obvious that she doesn't want to talk about it.”

Jisoo smiled at her weakly then rests her head on her shoulder.

“Okay, then, we’ll talk about you instead.” Rosé said crossing her arms.

Jennie immediately turned pale, that is not what she was aiming to happen. She turned to Jisoo for help but she was just answered with a shrug.

Honestly, Jennie doesn't know what to say. She and Jaebum have talked about her coming back to Milan but that’s just it. They haven’t talked about them and what will happen to them right now. They just happen to naturally come back to the way it used to be—but with an expiration date. It’s probably why neither of them wants to talk about it. They didn't want to officially come back together because it comes with due date.

“Jennie?”

Jennie was saved by the bell but if the bell is Jaebum calling her suddenly, it’s more like adding fuel to flame.

“Huh?” Jennie turns to him as Jisoo, Rosé and Lisa do so too.

“Can I talk to you for a sec?” Jaebum asked so mysteriously. Lisa and Rosé exchanged looks while Jisoo gave Jaebum a puzzled look to which he simply answered by turning away.

Jisoo smiles and tugs Jennie. “Go ahead.”

Jennie turned to Jisoo then to Lisa and Rosé asking for approval which they gave with nods and smiles.

Jennie then stood up and walked to Jaebum but instead of walking ahead, he went past the girls on the porch and entered the cottage. Jennie despite being clueless, immediately followed him, leaving her friends on the porch.

Jaebum leads the way inside. It is a weird feeling for them. She has known Jaebum for most of her adult life and this is the only time they were both unsure. Not even when they first met—hell, Jaebum was so sure of what he wants when they first met. Now, it feels like they’re walking on eggshells; on broken glass and they’re both afraid to get hurt. It was very unlikely, but maybe this is what it is when two people are afraid to hurt each other.

Jaebum turns to Jennie as if checking on her.

“What’s up?” Jennie asks, unsure but trusting.

Jaebum smiled as he takes her hand. “I’ve got something to show you.” He says as he gently drags Jennie, guiding her to the staircase.

They went up the stairs, straight to a small door by the end of the hallway in the living room.

“An attic?” Jennie asks, hesitating.

Jaebum nods with an excited smile.

Jennie pulled her hand from Jaebum’s, taking a step back. “There might be ghosts in there.”

Jaebum’s smile widened in amusement as he takes Jennie’s hand back and guides her inside. “Then, we’ll go make friends with them.”

Jennie shakes her head, eventually getting inside the attic.

“Whoa, it’s beautiful in here.” Jennie mumbles as they look around.

The attic is pretty small. There’s a tiny bed in the corner, a study table beside it and there is a window, facing the bed,

that has a perfect view of the star-filled sky. There are Christmas lights hanging around the ceiling, giving the room a mix of Christmas and _Stranger Things_ feel.

“It looks like _Stranger Things_ in here, though.” She added, making Jaebum laugh. “Did you make this?”

Jaebum shrugged humbly. “Told you, I discovered this by accident.”

Jennie sits in the bed. “Whose place is this again?”

“Jackson’s girlfriend—ex-girlfriend—honestly, I don’t even know.” Jaebum admitted, taking a seat beside Jennie.

Jennie nods. They sat there for a while, just admiring the calm sky and each other’s presence; both silently hoping for this perfect moment to last forever.

 

 

“Have you guys seen Jaebum?” Jisoo asked as she walks back to the bonfire where Jinyoung, Mark and Youngjae are cleaning up.

Bambam and Yugyeom are slumped on the floor drunk and asleep while Jackson is inside the tent they put up earlier, snoring.

Mark shakes his head and Youngjae replies. “Didn’t he go talk to you guys a while ago?”

“He did.” Jisoo said. “Well, to Jennie specifically. They went inside the cottage but that’s like two hours ago and we can’t find them anywhere.”

“Are you sure? Maybe they went out again?” Youngjae said.

“I kept calling them but they’re both out of reach.” Jisoo said.

“Don’t worry. They’re probably just somewhere, they’re together. Nothing could go wrong.” Mark assured.

Jisoo sighs and she just wishes it’s that easy to shut her anxieties. She puts one hand on her waist as she redials Jennie’s number, still with no success. Mark and Youngjae continue cleaning up while Jinyoung stays.

“Mark’s right.” He said. “They’re together, you shouldn’t worry.”

Jisoo groans as she puts her phone away from her ear. “I wish they could at least care to let us know. This is an unfamiliar place. I’m worried they got lost or something.”

“Do you want to look for them?” Jinyoung offered.

Jisoo thought about it. “You think they went to the woods?” She asked looking behind Jinyoung.

“They didn’t.” Jinyoung said firmly. “We never left the bonfire. If they went there, one of us would’ve known.”

Jisoo looks even more tensed.

“Come on,” Jinyoung says, putting down the plastic bag of trash he’s holding and walks past Jisoo. “Let’s look for them. They probably went around the neighborhood or something.

Jisoo followed him and they walked around the neighborhood, or the empty street, rather. The cottage is located at the top of the hill, far from the other houses. The walk down the hill alone is nothing but a long empty road. They went on looking for the two anyway.

“The sky looks great—do you think they’re just somewhere stargazing?” Jisoo sighs, turning to Jinyoung after looking up at the sky, panting in tiredness for walking for about thirty minutes or so with no signs of her best friends anywhere.

Jinyoung smiled. “They probably are. You tired already? You want to go back?”

Jisoo groans, turning around.

Jinyoung chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’m sure they’re all right.” He says as he follows Jisoo back to the direction of the cottage.

They are walking much slower this time. Jisoo is still looking up as she walks, admiring the star-filled sky.

“Oh, that’s the big dipper!” She exclaims, pointing.

Jinyoung followed where she’s pointing and smiles. “That’s the Little Dipper, Ursa Minor.” He scans the sky, looking for something. “That—you see that one with the shiniest star? That’s the Big Dipper.”

Jisoo slowly puts her hand and turns to Jinyoung. “Okay, nerd. You know everything.”

Jinyoung got shy. He chuckled with his hand covering his mouth.

Jisoo grinned. “You like the stars?”

Jinyoung thought about. “I did. Very much when I was younger. I read about them all the time, even their stories.”

“Stories?” Jisoo echoed in a question.

Jinyoung nods. “You know how astrology is connected to Greek Mythology? You know aside from the horoscopes.”

Jisoo chuckled. “So what about them?” She looks up.

Jinyoung did so. “The Big Dipper and Little Dipper?”

Jisoo nods.

“The dippers are actually part of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor and they are mother and son.” Jinyoung started. “Zeus, had a crush on the mother, a nymph named Callisto. Then, Hera—“

“Zeus’s wife.” Jisoo said.

Jinyoung nods, impressed. “She got annoyed and turned Callisto into a bear. Then one day, her son Arcas almost shot her during hunting so Zeus got guilty and made him a bear too.”

“That’s a close call.” Jisoo mumbles. “If only Zeus isn’t a fuckboy.”

Jinyoung cracks up.

Jisoo joins in laughter. “What? If Greek gods are living in the digital age, Zeus is definitely a fuckboy.”

“Aphrodite is a basic bitch.”

“Artemis and Athena are _the_ feminists.”

“Ares is the gym dude.”

Moments like these is something Jisoo treasures. When there is nothing else between them—no fake relationship, no scripts, no cameras around, no past lovers—they are just Jisoo and Jinyoung and their unique connection. It’s just the two of them and their genuine laughter. If only things will be like this forever. If only no hearts will end up breaking.

If Jisoo can only wish, to whatever star or to whoever god, she would wish that they will stay just like this.

They were in the middle of laughter when Jisoo’s phone suddenly rings.

Jisoo took it from her pocket and absentmindedly put it in her ear after answering.

“Hey,” she says, still laughing.

“Jisoo? Why did you call?”

“Huh?” Jisoo mumbles as she looks at who the caller is—it’s Jennie. “Jennie Kim!”

“Hey, what’s up?” Jennie said. “You were calling like crazy!”

“You went _missing_!” Jisoo replied.

“I didn’t.” Jennie replied. “You saw me and Jaebum went inside the cottage.”

“Yeah and when we’re there, there’s no trace of either of you.” Jisoo said. “I called you and both of your phones are out of reach, when my calls got in, you didn’t answer.”

“Oh.” Was all that can come out of Jennie’s mouth. Of course, they won’t see them if they’re up in a secret attic. “Yeah, well don’t worry. We’re just around here. Don’t stay up too late. Good night!”

Then, Jennie hangs up without letting Jisoo say anything more.

“Is she mad?” Jaebum asked after Jennie puts her phone down.

“Not that I can’t handle.” Jennie smiles. “She’s just worried, you know her.”

“We don’t deserve her.” Jaebum said.

Jennie takes a deep breath with a faint smile on her face.

They are sitting on the floor by now, the past hours passed by like seconds with them just talking, making up from the time they missed and the time they would eventually miss.

Jennie stands up and walks across the room to where an old organ is. She runs her fingers on it before turning to Jaebum.

“Play something for me.” Jennie said excitedly.

Jaebum made a face.

“What? You used to play for me all the time before.” Jennie says in a disappointed tone. “You’re playing for someone else now?”

“No.” Jaebum denied, face painted with annoyance as he walks to where Jennie is.

Jennie giggled, happy with her success over manning Jaebum.

“This shit is old.” Jaebum said, pulling up the cover on the keys then dusting them. He pressed one of the keys to check how it works and it surprisingly sounds okay, despite looking like it wasn’t used in years.

Jaebum familiarized with the organ, playing a few broken tunes before getting the knack of it. Jennie is leaning on the side of the organ before Jaebum pats the empty space on the chair he’s sitting at. Jennie didn’t hesitate and sits beside him.

Jaebum started playing. Jennie’s heart started beating fast as soon as she heard the first notes. It’s not a known song, it’s not even an actual song. It’s just an unnamed melody but it’s something so familiar. It’s a song that Jaebum used to play all the time for Jennie. She closed her eyes as she listens then she rests her head on Jaebum’s shoulder, letting the melody reach her heart.

The song has ended but neither of them moved, both of them savouring each other’s presence. It’s a surreal feeling. They are caught between the promise of starting again and the possible wrath of goodbye. They’ve been too cautious for a while now, but this moment—it belongs to them.

Jaebum puts down his hand and reaches for Jennie’s, interlacing their fingers with no hesitation. He rubs his thumb on her hand before he gently turns to her, giving her time to lean off his shoulder.

Jennie lazily moves, her eyes still closed, as Jaebum just watches her in silence. She opens her eyes and her smile softens when she found Jaebum looking at her.

Jaebum looks down to their fingers that are intertwined together. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.” He mumbles as he plays with her fingers.

“How much I’ve missed your scent,” He lifts her hand and places a gentle kiss on it.

He puts down her hand then runs his other hand on her arm. “Your voice,”

His hand traveled all the way to her shoulder, resting on the curve of her neck. “Your touch,”

He then looks up to her, their eyes locking in an instant. “Your eyes and that stare.” She couldn’t help but giggle and they giggle together, not breaking the stare.

Jaebum then moves his hand farther up, to her chin, his thumb caressing her cheek and Jennie couldn’t help but close her eyes with the sensation of Jaebum’s warm touch on her skin. His fingers eventually travelled to her lips, fingers brushing them. “Your lips and you kiss.”

Jennie’s giggle gradually drops and they involuntarily close the gap between them, their lips finding its way to each other with no hesitation. The kiss is hungry and gentle; familiar and foreign; wild and comforting—all at the same time.

Jaebum’s hands drops from Jennie’s face down to her waist, turning her body fully to him; they had to break the kiss for a while to successfully turn without any of them falling off the chair. Once they’re facing each other, Jaebum immediately pulled Jennie back, closing the gap between them. Jennie, as Jaebum does that, instinctively puts her arms around his neck pulling him closer.

The kiss lasted long but it is impossible not to lose their breaths from the action, so their lips eventually leave each other’s only for Jaebum to trail kisses on Jennie’s cheeks; to her jaws, then to her shoulders.

“I love you,” Jaebum mumbles on Jennie’s skin. “Damn, I love you so much.”

Jennie moans then says, in a low and almost sad tone, “I love you, Jaebum. You know I do.”

Jaebum continues with his soft assault on Jennie’s skin. It tickles her when he suddenly smiles against her skin. He moves back, lips lingering on her skin, only to hold her face again with one hand, while the other is fitting perfectly in her hand. Jaebum stares at Jennie, their eyes speaking on behalf of their tired lips, then his lips slowly moves upward, creating a sly and almost crazy smile. Jennie looked at him in puzzle, but an excited smile flashes her face too, anticipating whatever it is on his mind.

Jaebum leans in closer, kissing Jennie again but this time it’s softer and warmer. It was short but he remained the close proximity with her, letting their foreheads meet then he softly mumbles, “Let’s start again.”

 

 

“Is that Jennie?” Jinyoung asked, just as Jisoo puts down her phone.

“Yeah.” Jisoo replied, stuffing the phone back on her pocket.

“So? They’re together?”

“Yeah, somewhere.” Jisoo says with a sigh. “Well, at least I can have peace of mind now—that they’re okay. Probably a little bit more than okay. She sounded rushed.”

Jinyoung pursed his lips, nodding.

“Where were we again?” Jisoo asked, nose crunching.

“On the hill, on our way back to the cottage.” Jinyoung replied.

“No,” Jisoo says in a fake groan, eventually laughing as Jinyoung does too. “What are we talking about?”

“Greek gods and goddesses as millennials.” Jinyoung replied.

Jisoo giggled. “Oh yeah, sorry for messing up with your idea of Greek mythology.”

Jinyoung made a face. “I don't care. I only liked mythology because of the stars.”

“Oh, not because of _Percy Jackson_?” Jisoo asked.

Jinyoung shakes his head but is smiling in guilt. “But I did read two books in the series, I think. But I just really like the stars and galaxies and the planets—which all are, at some point, connected to mythology.”

Jisoo nods, convinced. “So you wanted to be an astronomer?”

Jinyoung thinks about it. “I think it was my _I-dream-to-be-the-President_ kind of dream.” Jisoo chuckled at his description but he continued anyway, laughing. “I mean, it’s that wild dream that you know won’t happen.”

“Why?” Jisoo asked. “If you really like it, you could really be an astronomer, work in NASA or something.”

Jinyoung smiles. “Yeah, but it’s nothing but a dream for me. I mean, it’s great reading about it, its stories and wonders. But up close, they’re pretty much nothing but a big ball of fire or gas.”

Jisoo nods, once again convinced with his point.

“What is your real dream, then?” she suddenly asks. “You know, that one thing that you think is your purpose in life?

Jinyoung thinks about it as they continued walking up the hill, their steps naturally turn slower and slower as they get near the top, to the cottage.

“I don't know.” Jinyoung admitted with a deep sigh. “Honestly, I have no idea.”

Jisoo remained silent. Not that Jinyoung’s answer is making her mummed, but because she felt that way too. Maybe not so much anymore, but she was once clueless about it too.

“How about you?” Jinyoung turns to Jisoo. Acting like a beauty pageant host, Jinyoung rolled his fist like holding a mic and says, “Miss Korea, what do you think is your purpose in life?” he then moves his hand to her, waiting for her answer.

Jisoo looked annoyed but couldn't help but giggle either. She pushed Jinyoung’s hand away gently as she advances a few steps ahead of him. Jinyoung quickly catches up.

“Come on, tell me, what’s your dream?” Jinyoung says gently. “Have you always wanted to be a chef?”

Jisoo takes a deep breath. “I did. I actually did. I grew up in a restaurant with a chef dad and a food enthusiast mother, it’s inevitable that I don't end up in the field. I happen to have a talent in it too so, yeah, I really thought that that’s what my dream is.”

“But it’s not about perfecting recipes or something,” she continued. “For me, it’s about how much food can affect people. Food makes everything better.” She chuckles. “When someone’s angry, sad, or even just bored, more often than not, food puts a smile on their faces. It has always given me a different kind of satisfaction whenever I see people smiling after eating the food I cook. But then life happened and my world turned upside down when my parents got divorced and our restaurant shut down.”

“You could’ve said I should have just looked for another restaurant job or something but I don't know, it’s like I lost my will in it when my heart got broken. I basically just took whatever job that came my way, even though it’s way too different.” Jisoo tried to explain something that she never vocalized before. “But you know what, I found out after working for Post It for the past years? The videos I make, they make people smile when they’re sad or angry and even when they’re just bored. So maybe, cooking is not really my purpose as I previously thought. It’s making people happy. That’s what makes me happy.”

As Jinyoung listens to Jisoo’s voice full of the deepest emotions she has in her heart and he watches her eyes glistens in joy and excitement, Jinyoung felt his heart beating—but it wasn't the kind of flustered-heart-beating. It’s something different, something more meaningful. The way it his heart beats sound in his chest is as if it hasn’t beaten in a really long time. There is hope gushing in his veins. For the first time in a really long time, he’s excited for the future, for the _now._ For the first time in a really long time, he felt alive.

And in that exact moment, with the stars bright in the sky and with Jisoo there beside him being nothing but herself, Jinyoung knew it’s possible for him to love again.

Jisoo suddenly turns to him, her embarrassed smile making him crazy and keeping him sane at the same time. “Sorry, I’m rambling too much again.”

She then turns back ahead and continues walking ahead, leaving Jinyoung in his place.

He doesn't know why and what exactly pushed him to do so but Jinyoung grabbed Jisoo’s arm, stopping her from walking ahead.

“What? Anything wrong?” Jisoo asked in worry as she turned to him.

Jinyoung didn't say a word and steps closer instead, his grip slowly travels from Jisoo’s arm to her hand. He can perfectly see the panic rising in her eyes as he does.

“Jisoo,” he says softly, sending chills all over Jisoo’s body.

Jisoo’s eyes shot wide open as she waits for Jinyoung to continue, the gap between them slowly diminishing with every step Jinyoung takes. Jinyoung’s eyes are fixed on their hands, his thumb softly brushing the back of Jisoo’s hand and she swears the feeling is too ecstatic for her.

Jinyoung slowly looks up to Jisoo, her heart beats fast in her chest that she worries it would fall if possible. They locked stares and there it is again. The sensation they always had, from the first moment they laid eyes to each other. They are looking past each other now and over the complexities of their beings.

Jinyoung takes Jisoo’s face in his hand, taking the remaining gap between them.

“Please let me make you happy too.” He softly mumbles just before he leans closer to her, kissing her soft in her lips.

Jisoo’s eyes widened before she shuts them involuntarily. She has never thought of this moment to arrive. She has no idea what to do but her lips took over, kissing him back in an instant, not wasting any more time.

It was such a beautiful moment that the stars above them are put to shame. Jisoo never thought this moment would get even more beautiful. Even with Jinyoung’s lips softly brushing in hers and his tongue gently asking for permission, Jisoo still couldn't believe this is real. But she let herself lose and get lost in the beauty of this moment. Maybe this is it. Maybe this is the moment that will make everything right.

Maybe this moment is finally theirs and theirs alone.

It’s a moment that Jisoo wishes would last forever. But they are both so ecstatic that they went gasping for air too soon. They break the kiss, at the same time, both them wanting to catch their breaths. It is all too surreal.

Jisoo slowly looks up to Jinyoung’s face, as if to check if it’s real and she instantly wished she didn't do that. At least not too soon.

“I’m sorry,” Jinyoung mumbles, his voice hoarse and weak. He is out of focus; as if he’s talking to himself. “I shouldn't… This is not right… I can’t do this to _her_.”

Jisoo’s world crashed down when she saw his eyes wide with regret. It’s a dagger straight to her heart and it’s as if someone kept on stepping on that wound in her chest, hurting her even more.

She took a step back and very weakly tries to pull her arms from Jinyoung’s grip but he was quick to grab her back.

“No, Jisoo.” Jinyoung suddenly says, grip back on Jisoo and to the moment. “I didn't mean that. No, sorry.”

Jisoo pulls her arm from Jinyoung, successfully this time with more effort. She pursed her lips, trying her best not to break into tears.

“N-no, it’s fine.” She said, putting on a smile that is obviously fake.

“Jisoo,” Jinyoung said taking a step closer but Jisoo takes a quick step away. “I’m so sorry, I don't mean that. You don't understand.”

But Jisoo could only take it for a while and she had enough; tears are already falling down her face.

“Don't worry about it. No harm done.” Jisoo said turning before completely running away. Even her own words are breaking her heart.

 

 

“What the fuck?” Jaebum exclaimed after Jisoo told him and Jennie what happened.

Jisoo was crying when she called Jennie a few minutes ago. It alarmed her and Jaebum making them stop whatever they were doing and they immediately went to Jisoo who has walked back to the backyard. Luckily, no one was there when she got there. All of them seem to be inside the cottage, sleeping sound.

“Where is that asshole right now?” Jaebum added, still in rage.

“Cut it, Jaebum.” Jisoo says weakly. Crying time is over her right now but the pain is still awful in her chest right now.

“What the hell is wrong with him? He really lost a lot of his sanity.” Jaebum mumbles. “I told him not to ever hurt you.”

“What?” Jisoo’s eyes widened. “You talked to him?”

“That was long ago,” Jaebum’s voice soften. “Even before we talked—you see, it’s because I knew this would happen. Fuck, I knew this will end up like this.”

“Stop whining as if this is not partially your fault, Jaebum.” Jennie says. “This is all your idea.”

“I didn't know this would happen!”

“Oh, cut it out, you two.” Jisoo cried. “I didn't call you two to bicker. Also, don't talk to Jinyoung like that again, Jaebum. I don't want your friendship getting dragged into this.”

Jaebum sighs, surrendering. He then slumps himself on the pavement where Jisoo and Jennie are sitting, occupying the other side of Jisoo. Jennie pulls Jisoo closer with her arm over her shoulder, rubbing her arm in comfort.

Jisoo sighs then fakes a smile.

“Well, it’s gonna end in tears anyway.” She says. “It just got a little bit earlier than expected.”

Jennie pulled her even closer and Jaebum scoffs.

“I just thought I can enjoy it a little bit longer.”

Jennie’s heart break hearing her best friend’s cry.

“Do you want to postpone tomorrow’s filming?” Jaebum asked.

Jisoo quickly made a face. “No, of course not. This is nothing. Everyone is here for filming and to have fun. I can’t spoil them just like that.”

“We can tell them that you got sick or something.” Jennie suggested.

Jisoo sighs, this time, straightening her back. “I told you guys, this is nothing. The last thing I like to happen is for him—or anyone—to pity me. This is nothing.”

Jaebum and Jennie went mummed, not knowing what else to make Jisoo feel better. At this point, she has obviously made up her mind and even though that means hurting herself even more, the least that they can do right now is to just support her.

By the time they got back inside, way past midnight, Mark and Youngjae are sleeping on the living room floor and everyone else are inside the rooms. The girls are supposed to share a room together while the guys, after playing about ten rounds of rock-paper-scissors, were split in half—four of them in the room and three of them in the living room. The losers were Bambam, Yugyeom and Youngjae, but seeing two guys in the living room, Jaebum most probably was robbed off his part on the bed. Jennie told Jisoo they should sleep inside the room with the girls but Jisoo said it’s too stuffy for her, she’d rather sleep on the couch in the living room. Jennie would like to insist she deserves the comfy bed right now but Jaebum just told them they can take the couch instead, he just scoot over down the floor with Mark and Jaebum.

Jisoo barely got any sleep that night. Her heart and mind are too heavy to shut. Whenever she’ll closer her eyes and got close to sleep, she’ll remember what happened then her heart will hurt and wake her up. But she was probably too tired for such a long day, she ended up getting a couple of minutes of sleep. When she wakes up, there is already a hint of sun shining and she knows it’s time for her to stop fooling herself she can get more sleep.

She stands up, careful not to wake Jennie up, and walks to the kitchen. She’ll definitely cook breakfast. At times like this, cooking can be a bit of a stress relief for her. She basically cooked everything that is there in the fridge—she doesn't even know if it’s their food, she didn't care and just cooked everything. She cooked rice, eggs—sunny side up, scrambled and _three_ types of omelette, soup, and cooked all of the remaining sausages and meat from last night—she can feed about thirty people with everything that she cooked.

She was in the middle of making fried rice when Jaebum suddenly walks in, yawning.

“Knew it this would happen.” He says walking straight to the coffee maker.

Jisoo was about to make some remark from last night when Mark suddenly appears. “Shit this is a lot.”

As if on cue, each of them comes out of their rooms and walk to the kitchen, straight to the dining table. Food can truly work wonders to people—even waking them up from slumber.

Jaebum then, with two cups of coffee in hand, turns around and hands one of the cups to Jisoo who gladly took it.

“What is your plan now?” he asked.

Jisoo sighed with a weak smile on her face. “He said it was a mistake. What do you do after making a mistake?”

 

 

“Last night was a mistake. Let us just forget about it.” Jisoo confidently says, her stare firm ahead.

“No. No, no, no. That’s too stiff.” Jennie comments.

They are in their room and Jisoo has been practicing how to deal with what happened for the past forty-five minutes or so. They just finished filming camping episode’s morning-after episode and they’re now getting ready to leave the cottage and drive to the vineyard to film the next episode.

“Do you really have to bring it up?” Jennie asked. “You already met this morning, perfectly filmed on top of it—do really think you need to address it?”

“Of course!” Jisoo replied. “I’m not going to act as if it’s nothing—though, it’s technically _nothing_.”

Jennie sighs as she packs her things back on her bag. “How did you even film the whole morning without talking about it? Are you sure he didn't even try to bring it up?”

Jisoo shakes. “I think he’s avoiding it and Jaebum’s being a big help in keeping us away from each other off cam.”

For people who just shared a complicated kiss the night before, Jisoo and Jinyoung were surprisingly way too professional. On cam, everything looks great. It was as if nothing has happened before. Sure there was the tiny details—the awkward silence and the fake smiles—but they’re a little bit too good with acting that no one really noticed what’s going on—no one except Lisa and Mark who can obviously feel the tensed atmosphere. They wanted to bring it up but Jaebum is a bit on the edge of his temper today that they didn't really have the time to check on what’s really going on. Little did they know that Jaebum is just distracting them.

It was Jennie’s turn to sigh, zipping her bag. She walks back to the bed then sits beside Jisoo. “How are you feeling?”

“Honestly, I don't know. Numb, I think?” Jisoo replied with a fake smile. “I had this coming anyway. I practically brought this to myself…” she trailed off before continuing, “I just thought I can enjoy it a little bit more before it all crashes down.”

Jennie frowned as her heart breaks for her friend. “But he kissed you.” She says. “Why would he do that if he doesn’t mean it?”

“I don't know.” Jisoo admitted. “He’s obviously confused and a bit drunk, on top of it.” That was a lie. Something Jisoo made herself think even though she’s sure Jinyoung is far away from drunk last night. Sure, he got a bit of a drink but there’s no way they could have climbed down that steep hill, climb back up all while talking about random stuff if he’s not sober. Last night, the most part of it, was beautiful and none of it would have happen if one of them is intoxicated.

“But he’s right.” Jisoo continued. “I can’t be _her_. She’s beautiful—“

Jennie cuts her off. “Oh, Jisoo, stop that.”

“She’s kind. She’s smart. She’s a sweetheart.”

“You don't know any of that.”

“She’s gorgeous.”

“Yeah, and she’s gone.”

“Hey,” Jisoo exclaimed, giving Jennie a sharp glare.

“What?” Jennie is unapologetic. “You can’t do this to yourself, Jisoo. It’s enough that you’re getting drown in pain over your unrequited love but don't shit yourself like this. You deserve more than that. A lot more. You’re just as, if not more, beautiful, nice and smart and sweet and gorgeous. You gotta give yourself more credit, dear.”

Jisoo sighs and smiles weakly. “I just… I can't help it.”

“Look,” Jennie tries her best to cheer her up. “The fact that he kissed you, means there’s something. There has got to be something and you can’t just give that away.”

Jisoo’s smile turned weaker, sadder. “But it’s _her_. She’s the love of his life—how can I compete with that?”

“Oh, Jisoo.” Jennie said in a melachonic voice as she moves closer to Jisoo and wraps an arm around her. Jisoo submits to the embrace and rests her head on Jennie, letting her warmth comfort her.

They were interrupted by Bambam suddenly barging in the room, face painted with questions when he saw the two.

“We’re leaving in ten, guys.” He manages to say despite the confusion. “C’mon.”

Jennie and Jisoo detached themselves from each other and went out, ready to leave.

Jennie made sure she’s sitting with Jisoo in the bus and Jaebum did the same with Jinyoung. The two guys haven’t talked the whole day but Jinyoung knows Jaebum has an idea of what’s going on and it makes him hate himself more. He has been meaning to talk to Jisoo since this morning but she’s obviously avoiding him and, honestly, he doesn’t really know what to say.

The only time they have to talk, Jisoo and Jinyoung, are in the middle of the beautiful vineyard, surrounded by green and purple grape vines. The sun is just setting, giving the whole place a beautiful natural glow. They are done with filming everything and all that’s left is this scene that Jaebum had in mind—Jinyoung and Jisoo running on the vineyard, captured from the top with a drone cam.

Jaebum achieved everything about the image in his head—magic hour, the Jisoo’s red sundress and Jinyoung’s maroon top are in perfect contrast with the grapevines, the wind is crisp and light—everything is perfect except his stars. He honestly feels bad about this. He wanted this episode to be perfect but more than being picture-perfect, he wanted this to be a perfect moment. Some beautiful memory that all of them will treasure. But the sudden turn of events makes this melancholic instead.

Jisoo and Jinyoung are alone in the middle of the vineyard and their only way of communication with their crew is through earphones they tried so hard to discreetly hide in their hair. They are standing in complete, unbearable awkward silence. None of them know what to say; none of them wants to say anything even though they both know they should.

“About last night,” Jinyoung says in an attempt to break the silence, sending shivers throughout Jisoo’s body.

He takes a deep breath before continuing. “I’m really sorry.” The words felt so heavy. “I’m really sorry, I didn’t know—“

“It’s okay.” Jisoo cuts him off, turning to Jinyoung with an assuring smile that he knows too well that is fake.

“It’s a mistake. Let’s just forget about it.” She said, just like how she rehearsed.

“What?” Jinyoung said, surprised, making Jisoo surprised that he’s surprised.

“What do you mean what?” Jisoo said with a nervous laughter. “That’s a mistake. We both know that shouldn’t happen. We just had a drink and the stars and gods and goddesses were probably punishing us for trash talking them.” The awkward and nervous chapter continues.

Jinyoung just stares at her. He just knows her too well for him to know that she’s faking it. That behind that smile, she’s hurting.

“Come on, Jinyoung. You should know better.” Jisoo assures. “It’s just a kiss.”

Jinyoung wanted to say something but he’s too stunned to even open his mouth. The next thing he knew, Jaebum is instructing them through the earphones, telling them they should starting running in, “Three,” Jaebum mumbles.

Jisoo takes a deep breath as she straightens her back.

“Two.”

Jinyoung is stuck in his place, lost at what he’s supposed to do.

“One.”

Like a gunshot signalling marathon, Jisoo runs ahead after Jaebum’s countdown, leaving Jinyoung behind. It took her a little while to realize Jinyoung didn’t make a move.

“Hey, run!” Jisoo instructed but Jinyoung remained unfazed.

So, she hops back then takes his arm, dragging and forcing him to run, laughing as she does. Eventually, Jinyoung laughs along.

Together, they run hand in hand and, in the most complicated way the universe can make, they’re actually happy. In the middle of the vineyard and the shards of their broken hearts, they’re smiling.

Jisoo leads the way, grip tight on Jinyoung’s hand, then she turns back to him with a smile. For a moment, Jinyoung was fooled she’s completely happy. But then tears suddenly fell down her cheek and Jinyoung knew.

In that moment, Jinyoung knew what he lost.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... 
> 
> so sorry to make you wait just to end like this :(((( I'd still love to here from you tho
> 
> anyway, as I said in my [tweet](https://twitter.com/howtobeucoco/status/1040430628909441024) that this is going to be the last chapter for now. But don't worry, I will surely be back with more chapters soon! Also, check out my twitter once in a while for some updates (or fics????)! 
> 
> Thank you! <3


	10. In Between

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi!!!!! sorry for the long hiatus :( you see, i was struggling a little bit but hey, i got through it!! 
> 
> anyway, the next chapter is going to be released next week! but since i owe you guys a lot kjghsjk here's a little something for you--chapter 10 will take place three months after the vineyard filming and these are the events that took place in between! ^^
> 
> and btw, there is a 23 Dates FMV/trailer made by [ahgafish](https://twitter.com/ahgafish)! It's so good, I swear I cried. You can watch it [ here ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SORUSQ9jVLw&feature=youtu.be) before reading to warm you up! Also, check her out on twitter, she has other jinji fmvs too! <3

_One month later; Seoul_

“For Jinji season two!” Bambam initiated the toast.

The whole pack is hanging out at Jaebum’s place. They just wrapped up Jinji’s first season with a whopping two million views for the finale episode, barely twenty-four hours after it was uploaded. They are having beer, chicken, and pizza, making a huge mess at Jaebum’s apartment. He doesn’t care though, a huge stress is now off his chest and all he wants to do is to celebrate. Jennie is the one a little bit worried, though. She and Jaebum are now, officially, back together and it has been two weeks since she moved back in. She just finished cleaning up the apartment and now the cans and cartons getting piled up are already worrying her.

Jaebum puts his arm around Jennie, planting a soft kiss on her temple and mumbling something against her skin. It’s foolish because he didn’t even say a word but with that soft touch, Jennie already gives up on worrying. She’ll just enjoy this night as it should be. Across the living room, Lisa and Rose are giving their friend looks after seeing the couple’s skinship. Beside them, Yugyeom is sitting and giving them a puzzled look. Mark slumped himself on the couch beside Youngjae after almost an hour out in the hallway talking on the phone. Jackson is, as usual, nowhere to be found; probably trying to sober up. Jisoo is on Jaebum’s lazy boy, laughing at her crazy friends.

Jennie throws a crumpled tissue at Lisa and Rose when she saw the two teasing her, making them burst into laughter. Lisa then stood from her place and squeezes herself in Jaebum’s lazy boy.

“Hey!” Jisoo protested, moving her beer away to avoid it from spilling.

Lisa, already half-drunk, ignored her plea and squeezes herself closer to Jisoo, burying her face on her shoulder. Jisoo could only groan, surrendering. She sighs then finishes her beer in one gulp.

“Where’s Jinyoung?” Lisa suddenly asks, startling Jisoo.

Jisoo almost chokes her beer.

“I-I don’t know.” Jisoo stuttered.

It sounded like a lie, like she’s hiding something. But the truth is, Jisoo doesn’t really know where Jinyoung is.

After their shoot at the vineyard, following that awful night of regrets, Jisoo and Jinyoung didn’t talk to each other again. Jisoo stopped calling Jinyoung. How can she still continue with their game when her heart is already crushed? Not that she was expecting anything, but Jinyoung didn’t make any effort to talk to her again. So, even though it hurts her even more, she just let it be. There are things that Jisoo has no control of. Just like how she never really had control over her heart falling for Jinyoung, she can’t do anything too if he decides to avoid her.

“You don’t know where your boyfriend is?” Lisa accused. “Pft. And you call yourself his girlfriend?”

First of all, Jisoo is never Jinyoung’s girlfriend and Jinyoung is never Jisoo’s boyfriend—at least in reality; second, Lisa is obviously drunk and joking—her words shouldn’t hurt Jisoo in any way.

But it did. Lisa’s beer-induced words shot straight to Jisoo’s chest and it was ringing so damn loud in her ears. She is not Jinyoung’s girlfriend, she will never be, why is she acting like her feelings should matter to him? Why is she acting like a demanding girlfriend waiting for her boyfriend to break the ice?

Jisoo sighs. She stands from the lazy boy carefully as to not wake up the already asleep Lisa. She walks to Jaebum and Jennie’s room, no one even bothering to ask what’s up because they are all busy with their own shit—even the couple who owns the room doesn’t care that their best friend is breaking in their love nest. She gets inside, leaving the door a little bit open, and walks straight to the bed and sits down.

Over the past month, she never really thought about making the first move and talk to Jinyoung. Talking to him reminds her about that night—their beautiful moment under the stars, the kiss that sealed that night and his words that destroyed everything.

_Her._ Jisoo thought she’s fine with it. She knows Jinyoung will never get over Jessica and she has long accepted that. She thought she psyched herself enough not to let it get through her. She thought she’s strong. But that’s all in his head.

Her heart is a different thing. She can always fool her mind but she can never make her heart believe it’s okay—that she’s okay with the fact that Jinyoung will never feel the same way for her. She may be smart but she can never ignore her heart. Especially when it’s crying.

Jisoo sighs heavily and lays down on the bed, her arms spread wide, legs hanging on the side of the bed and she’s staring straight into the ceiling.

Her heart is way too fucked up by now, she realizes. Because even after getting hurt, it still cries for him. He may be the reason that it breaks but he’s also the one who can fix it.

Jisoo reaches for her dreamcatcher necklace—the one Jinyoung gave him and the one she never took off since. She closed her eyes. Her fingers playing with the necklace and her mind wandering off. She takes her phone from her pocket, stares for it for a second then dials Jinyoung’s number—all without thinking, as if involuntary.

That nano second between dialling his number and putting her phone on her ear, she felt her stomach churn in nervousness. She doesn’t know what to say, she can’t bring herself to talk to him. She was about to hang up when the phone operator beat her to it.

_The number you have dialled is out of reach._

It went on and on before Jisoo gets annoyed with the operator’s voice and she realized how there wasn’t even a series of rings.

Jinyoung’s phone could be switched off or anything but Jisoo’s messed up mind and broken heart leads to one direction—did Jinyoung block her?

Jisoo immediately went to Instagram and went to his profile but she couldn’t find it. He’s not on her following and follower list and she searched for his handle over and over but it’s not showing up. Mix of anger, annoyance and embarrassment are making Jisoo dizzy right now. She sits up on the bed, her grip tight on her phone.

_He fucking blocked me_. She thoughts to herself. He definitely did, what else can be the reason behind this? She hates it, she felt so offended and hurt. Was the kiss so awful that he had to delete her from his life?

She could’ve just take that and bury it in her already broken heart. What else can it do, anyway? She’s already hurt and harmed, another reason for heartbreak wouldn’t be so different.

But her heart is searching for something—some sort of confirmation. So she went back on Instagram, logged into Jennie’s account. Jennie entrusted her with her log in details in case of emergency and Jisoo swore to God she will never log in to the account without Jennie’s approval but this is an emergency, right?

With Jennie’s Instagram logged in, Jisoo searched for Jinyoung’s account but it’s not appearing. Could it be possible that Jinyoung blocked her too? He’s that dense and awful? Still in state of panic and anger, Jisoo went to Jaebum’s profile and searched for Jinyoung in his following and followers list. He’s not there.

Jisoo clutched her phone in her chest as panic gush through her veins like a rapid river. All the annoyance and embarrassment in her has turned into panic and anxiety.

_What happened?_ It plays over and over in her head as she thinks of the possible reasons why he deactivated. There could be a lot of reasons that shouldn’t make her worry but she can’t help but think of the worst—the worst that she can’t even point out.

Jisoo is drowning in her puddle of thoughts when Jackson suddenly walks to her coming from the bathroom inside the room.

“Jisoo?” Jackson asked in worry, slightly tapping Jisoo’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Jisoo slowly turns to him. “Where’s Jinyoung?”

Jackson turned pale. He takes a moment, thinking of what to say, before asking, “Jaebum didn’t tell you?”

Jisoo’s anxiety worsen. “Tell me what?”

“Uh… I, uh, he’s—“

Jackson was interrupted by Jaebum opening the door wide.

“What the hell are you two doing here?” Jaebum asked.

Jackson turned to him. “Great, you’re here! Jisoo is asking something!” he playfully slapped Jaebum’s arm as he walks by then whispered. “You got this.” Then walks out of the room.

“What is he talking about?” Jaebum asked Jisoo, walking to her after switching the lights.

Jisoo couldn’t answer at first, stunned and confused. Jaebum stands in front of her, waiting.

“What?” Jaebum said.

“Where’s Jinyoung?” Jisoo asked, looking down at her hands.

Jaebum froze in his place.

Jisoo looks up to him. “Where is he?”

There was a long pause, neither of them spoke a word. One is afraid of telling the truth while the other is scared of hearing it.

Jaebum speaks nervously. “He didn’t tell you?”

“Nobody told me anything!” Jisoo replied.

Jaebum sighs. It’s pointless to beat around the bush.

“He went back.” He finally said.

“Back? Where?” Jisoo asked, confused.

“To New York.”

 

 

_Two months later, Seoul_

Jisoo wakes up to the sound of her phone ringing. She immediately feels a sharp pain on her back as she sits up and yawns. She takes a glance at her phone just to see that it’s Jennie calling her—for the second time today and seventh from last night. She raised her hands up, stretching, hoping it can make her back feel better.

It’s Saturday, her wristwatch is telling her it’s midday already. Jennie has been bombarding her with calls and messages since last night asking her to come over and hangout with her friends because it was a Friday night for fuck’s sake. But Jisoo didn’t feel like getting wasted, more so answering Jennie’s calls and messages.

Instead, she spent the night at Post It’s HQ doing overtime. Fusion just wrapped its season and everything is settled for Trendsetter’s upcoming season but Jisoo is lined up with other videos. She has been working out way too harder these days that she ever did in her whole Post It career.

Jisoo chose not to take the call. Instead, she gathers her things and takes her bag—deciding to continue her slumber in her comfy bed at home. Her drive home was dreadful, the slight weekend traffic is making her sleepier. She’s lucky she got to her apartment safe without falling asleep on the wheel. She slumped herself on her couch as soon as she got inside her apartment. Her initial plan to sleep on her bed fails when her couch beats her to it.

Not even an hour into her sleep, Jisoo wakes up from the rustling sound and smell of food cooking from her kitchen. She froze in her place. She swears to the heavens she locked her door as she entered—but did she? Now she doesn’t know anymore and it might be the cause of some murder or burglar entering her apartment.

But which murder or thief would cook after breaking in?

Unless it’s not a murderer but someone who just has the habit of breaking in to her house.

Jisoo sighs heavily, of relief and surrender, before sitting up on her couch. She turns to her kitchen and there they are—the Bonnie and Clyde of her life.

“Do you ever realize that this illegal?” Jisoo mumbles.

Jaebum, wearing Jisoo’s pink ruffled apron and with a spatula in hand, turns to her innocently. “How is cooking kimchi stew illegal?”

“I kept on calling you last night ‘til this morning and you never answered.” Jennie said, looking up from the potatoes she’s cutting. “Where were you?”

Jisoo groans in frustration before getting off the couch. She walks to the kitchen in defeat. No matter how hard she tries to shut these two in her life and keep them for acting like her parents, it’s just so impossible when it’s their second nature.

“You know where I was.” Jisoo replied, snatching a piece of spam that Jennie has cut into cubes.

“Who even goes overtime on a Friday?” Jaebum asked.

“Hyunjin from Finance.” Jisoo boldly replied. “He was at the office last night.”

Jaebum showed smug smile. “Yeah then he went to the bar last night at nine.”

Jisoo rolled her eyes, sitting on her bar stool.

“What time did you go home?” Jennie asked.

Jisoo turns away. She can’t say an hour ago because that’ll just get her to more scolding.

Jaebum examined Jisoo.

“She was snoring on the couch in her work clothes—she just got home.” Jaebum said.

“Hey, I—ouch!” Jisoo hasn’t even started with her alibi but Jennie has started hitting her with leeks.

“You didn’t go home again?” Jennie asked as she assaults Jisoo with the vegetable. “I told you to sleep at home!”

“Hey, hey!” Jisoo protested. “It stings!”

In the background, Jaebum has already burst into laughter, almost forgetting about the stew he’s cooking.

Jennie eventually stops hitting Jisoo and the latter helped the couple fix their super-late lunch. Surprisingly and suspiciously, neither of the couple brought up Jinyoung while preparing.

Jinyoung has been their favorite topic these days. They insist that Jisoo is just stressing herself to be distracted about Jinyoung leaving and the whole Jinyoung thing in general. They hate it. They are both trying their best to get Jisoo’s ass out of her desk, to rest and have fun. But Jisoo kept on denying, saying she’s just really motivated to work.

Jisoo hates giving her best friends less credit but she is just not buying this unsolicited good deed of cooking her lunch. They surely came here for some speech again.

True enough, the speech started when they’re finishing lunch—or dinner since it was already late afternoon when they finished cooking.

“Stop doing this to yourself.” Jennie said sternly.

Jisoo rolls her eyes with a sigh. They had this conversation for a thousand of times now but she will never surrender.

“What am I doing?” Jisoo asked savagely.

“Acting like a teenager going through puberty.” Jaebum answered.

“Then stop acting like middle-aged parents.” Jisoo fought back.

Which, honestly, is making Jaebum crack up but he chose to supress his laughter because Jennie seems to be into the whole parent thing and he didn’t want to get into an argument with his nagger wife.

“I know you’re doing this because you still feel bad about what happened with Jinyoung.” Jennie started. “But this isn’t good. I know you’re heartbroken but you can’t be slump over some broken-hearted guy who can’t get over his ex.”

“Technically, she is not her ex because they never really _broke up_.” Jisoo mumbles mindlessly, eyes fixed on her almost-empty bowl. “If things were different, they could still be together. I mean, he loves her—she is the love of her life. You can’t just degrade her to being her _ex_.”

Jennie was mummed, feeling a little bit bad about what she said.

“She’s the love of his life.” Jisoo repeats with a weak smile. “How can I beat that?”

Jennie and Jaebum just stare at her with a mix of guilt and pity. They feel bad about trying so hard to pull Jisoo off of her distractions when it’s the only thing that can keep her from getting hurt.

Jisoo notices the two staring and turns to them with a smile.

“Hey, what happened to my parents?” she said with a fake chuckle.

Jaebum cleared her throat while Jennie gave her a sad face.

“Look,” Jisoo started. “This whole stressing over Post It is not entirely bad. It’s fruitful even—I’ve wrapped up Fusion with a good response and I came up with six videos in the past three weeks with favourable amount of views. Getting your heart broken is actually productive.”

She chuckled again, with a little more life this time. “And you’re right. I don’t deserve this. I’ll get over this— _him_. I’ll find other distractions. I’m doing it, it’ll probably just a little bit slow. But I’ll get there”

Jennie then turned to Jaebum and started hitting him in the shoulder.

“What?!” Jaebum protested.

“This is all your fault!” Jennie said. “If not for your stupid series idea and if you didn’t drag her into this mess, none of this will happen! It’s all your fault.”

“It hurts!” Jaebum screams. “This is your fault too. If you didn’t leave me, I won’t be too desperate to come up with a series concept.”

Jennie stopped hitting him for a while before starting with a series of hits again.

“By the way,” Jaebum turns to Jisoo as he shields himself from Jennie’s slaps using his arm. “You’re still up for the next season, right? You sig—“

“What? You’re still thinking about your show now?” Jennie’s slaps won’t stop.

“She signed a contract!”

Jisoo bursts into laughter. It’s crazy how the couple can deal with what happened lightly and even joke about it now but Jisoo feels warm knowing her best friends are back with their happiness.

“You really look like a middle-aged couple now.” Jisoo mumbles with a giggle.

 

 

Jisoo took a nap, she never really had a decent sleep from last night, but eventually she wakes up. She’s too tired to even sleep. When she walked out of her room, Jennie and Jaebum are comfortably sitting on her couch, watching some old movie. They decided to have some drinks and have chicken delivered over.

They were drinking, sitting in a pile in Jisoo’s small balcony, when Jennie’s phone suddenly rings, immediately getting off the floor when she saw the caller ID.

“ _Buongiorno, Estella!_ ” she answers in perfect Italian before disappearing into Jisoo’s room.

Jisoo watches her as she walks while Jaebum chugs his beer.

“She’s still leaving?” Jisoo asked, scooting near Jaebum. She has been too engrossed with her own problems these days that she forgot to check on them.

Jaebum nods, staring at the beer can on his hand. “Her agency lets her off the hook as long as she’ll come back. They’re just giving her a couple of months here to wrap things up then go back there.”

Jisoo nods. The two sat in silence for a while, chewing and chugging. Seems like Jennie’s international call will be long, again.

“Hey,” Jaebum mumbles. “About the show, you don’t have to do it if—“

“Are you crazy?” Jisoo asked. “We can’t just leave our viewers hanging like that.”

Jaebum resents himself for dragging his friends into this mess.

“We ended the season perfectly. We didn’t announce that there’s going to be another season so we’re not leaving anyone hanging.” Jaebum insisted.

“Okay then how about Post It? Dohwan? We’re just gonna let them kick our asses for not sticking with the series contract?” Jisoo mumbles.

Jeabum takes another chug of his beer.

Jisoo smiled faintly. “Look, it’s really fine. It’s gonna be hard but I can do this.”

“Are you sure?” Jaebum checked.

Jisoo nods. “Yeah, I’ll just keep my feelings to myself until it fades away. I’m used to that.”

Jaebum scoffs. “Sounds pathetic.”

“Hey, foul.” Jisoo said to which Jaebum simply shrugged.

Jisoo smiles then she rests her head on Jaebum’s shoulder.

Silence took over again. Being physical was never a thing in Jisoo and Jaebum’s friendship. They share hugs once in a while, on celebratory moments, but most of the time, the slightest touch is too awkward for them. But this time, giving a shoulder to rest on is the best type of comfort that they can share.

“Can you give Jinyoung a chance?” Jaebum suddenly asked.

The question is so sudden, giving Jisoo a slight churn in her stomach. She can remember how angry Jaebum was when the whole thing first exploded, but she also noticed how it slowly faded. Eventually, it felt like he became neutral in the situation. Jisoo thought it’s because, of course, they are still best friends and he can’t just hate him forever just because he’s getting dragged to an ugly unrequited love.

“What do you mean?” Jisoo dares to ask. “He basically shut me down.”

“In his defense, he shut us all down. Again.” Jaebum said.

Jisoo giggles a bit before it fades into a sad smile.

“Just,” Jaebum starts, unsure how to continue. “Trust him.”

Jisoo tears up. She’s so frustrated, she doesn’t know what to do.

Jaebum curses himself when he felt Jisoo’s damp cheek on his shoulder.

“If you can’t trust him anymore, can you at least trust me?” Jaebum says. “I promise you he’s worth another chance.”

Jisoo breaks into a smile, making her tear up even more because it sounded like a joke.

“I believed you when you said I’ll never fall for him. Should I do the same mistake?”

 

 

_Three months later, New York_

Jinyoung is carrying a box in his arms as he walks down the stairs of his New York apartment. He’s on his second to the last box of his things, loading them in the moving truck parked across the street.

Jinyoung spent the past week packing the things he left in their apartment, segregating them to what he can still use and to what should be donated to the charities. In the end, most of his things went to the box for the charities.

It was a tough week for him. Finally, after about two months in New York, he has decided to do what he went here for. It was like facing a bad dream. Going back to their apartment after months of leaving it is somehow worse than living there alone. There was a mix of nostalgia and pain as he goes to each part of the apartment, looking into their things piece by piece.

Each item—from the furniture, mugs, books and even the sheets—holds a memory of Jessica in it. Jinyoung sees her lying on the couch waiting for him. He sees her back on the kitchen as she tries her best to cook Korean food. He sees her on their bed, her arms around him as she dips her head closer to his chest.

It was painful. Jinyoung spent his first few nights back crying, just thinking about Jessica, everything that they were and what they would have been, continuously blaming himself for what happened. But it’s too late now. She’s gone and Jinyoung is left with pain and memories. The nights were cold and lonely in those nights, he tried to hold into the memories he cherished instead of the sorrow.

It was difficult, but soon enough, Jinyoung felt warmth in the memories.

Jinyoung was sitting on the floor, it was about a week ago, he has Jessica’s journal in his hand. He just shed a few tears reading some of her entries. It made him miss her more but there was less agony. It’s more of a bittersweet memory which is what Jessica deserve, not some painful fragments of their beautiful relationship. It was then that Jinyoung realized that coming to terms with what happened gives him peace. Reliving what they had is like feeling her arms around him. He has always opted to run away from the memories thinking it will bring him pain, his faults, and his shortcomings.

But it shouldn’t be like that. Jessica is one of the best things that happened in his life and she is one of the best presents he has ever received in his life. What they had was beautiful. It’s still heart breaking thinking about how it all went down but Jessica doesn’t deserve this. She doesn’t deserve to be some painful memory because she’s more than that. She’s a beautiful chapter of his life—the plot that made him who he is right now.

Jinyoung looks at their lovely apartment for the last time. He has his hand on the knob, one step away from closing this chapter. It’s a tough choice. Closing the door is closing the chapter. Taking another step is crossing the line of moving on.

It’s a bum that Jinyoung is just realizing it now, way too late. But it’s still not too late to make Jessica proud. The least that he can do for her is to be happy in his life because, as lame as it sounds, it’s probably what she would want him to do now. As he takes another step and closes the door, he makes a silent promise to her that he’ll be happy.

Jinyoung just returned their keys to their landlady when he bumped into Brian, their Korean-American neighbor who grew to be one of Jinyoung’s closest friend in New York.

“Jinyoung!” Brian greeted, immediately going for a hug.

“Hey,” Jinyoung mumbles hugging him back.

“You’re back!” Brian asked after releasing him. “You left so sudden I thought I’ll never see you again.”

Jinyoung scratches his head. “Sorry, something just came up.”

Brian nods, patting Jinyoung’s shoulder for comfort. “When did you come back?”

“About two months ago.” Jinyoung replied.

“Two months?” Brian asked in shock. “Why didn’t you tell me? We should’ve grabbed some drinks to welcome you back!”

“Sorry, I just… I had to sort things out.” Jinyoung explained.

“Oh, that’s okay. We can still celebrate tonight! Are you free?”

“Yeah, about that,” Jinyoung hesitates. “I’m actually leaving. For good.”

“Oh.” Brian’s shoulders dropped. He looked behind him at the glass doors. “The moving truck, it’s you?”

Jinyoung nods. “I can’t stay here anymore.”

Brian nods. “Of course. You have to start a new life.”

“Oh well,” Brian continues with sigh. “I wish you well wherever you’re off to. Where are you going anyway?”

Jinyoung smiled. “Home. I’m going home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so yeah... that's about it. As I said, chapter 10 will be up next week!!!!!
> 
> thank you for your patience! <3333


	11. Comeback

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY ITS HERE AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH
> 
> thank y'all for waiting and sorry if it took so long T^T 
> 
> btw you might want to check this [ FMV ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SORUSQ9jVLw) out for warm up! ^^

“Height?”

“One-seventy-eight.”

“Centimeters?”

“Yeah, what do you want, meters?”

“You’re one-seventy-eight tall?”

“Yes.”

“Not one-seventy?”

“No!”

“That’s impossible. You’re not much taller than me.”

“What’s your height?”

“I’m one-six-six. You should be at most one-seventy-three. Tell me honestly, you’re one-seventy, right?”

“Hey, Kim Jisoo!” Bambam stares to the camera then stands. “I quit! Or at least change my partner.”

Lisa bursts into laughter beside her. She pulls Bambam down by the arm. “Okay, okay. One-seventy-eight it is.”

“Hey, faster, you two. I still have to film Youngjae and Rosé.” Jisoo instructed, standing in the corner of the room.

Jisoo is filming them as part of her new video where friends make each other’s dating profile. They are using a Korean dating app called _Pairs,_ which asks people specific details that will determine their match.

“Okay, you’re height,” Bambam mumbles as he creates Lisa’s dating app. “One-sixty—“

“One sixty!” Lisa snatches the phone.

“What?” Bambam takes the phone back. “You said you’re one-sixty-six.”

“Yeah, but that’s too tall.” Lisa argued, looking over Bambam’s arm after he has successfully taken it.

Bambam turned to her with an animated puzzled expression.

Lisa dips her head down, almost touching Bambam’s arm with her chin.

“Some guys don’t like it when girls are too tall.” She explained in a whisper but the microphone was able to catch it.

Bambam was stunned at first then she shakes his head. “Nah. Let’s be real here. And if the guy gets distracted with it then he’s not worth it at first.”

Lisa smiles wide then crunches her nose. “No. One-sixty.”

Bambam sighs. “One-sixty.”

They continued filming for almost two hours making their profiles and hitting up a few matches. Jisoo just took a quick break then she started filming Rosé and Youngjae, with Mark helping her behind the scenes. Filming Rosé and Youngjae took a little bit of time because Youngjae has never done online dating before. Rose has to walk him through it, explaining each step.

By the time they wrapped up filming, it’s already evening. The six of them walk back to the HQ from the studio, taking a detour to the coffee shop to grab some coffee. When they got back to the office, Jaebum is still on his desk.

Jaebum let his hand out when each of them pass by, expecting that they bought him coffee. Mark passed by, then Youngjae, Lisa, then Rosé. When Bambam reached him, he gave Jaebum a hi-five.

Jaebum then looks up from his computer, giving Bambam and Jisoo furrowed eyebrows.

“Where’s mine?” Jaebum asked.

“Isn’t it date night tonight?” Bambam mumbles as he walks to Youngjae’s desk, leaning on it.

“Isn’t date nights Tuesdays?” Youngjae asked.

“I thought it’s Thursdays?” Lisa added.

“Every night is date night.” Rosé corrected.

Jaebum swings his chair around and throws a piece of paper at the juniors; all of them successfully avoiding it except Youngjae who got hit in the arm.

“Why aren’t you home early tonight?” Jisoo asked, moving over Jaebum’s station and leaning on his table.

Jaebum swings his chair back. “Jennie is on a Skype conference with her agency. It feels weird hearing people talking in Italian at home. Sounds like they’re all cursing me.”

Jisoo just laughs. She was about to say something but got distracted by a notebook in Jaebum’s things that looks too familiar to her.

“Hey,” Jisoo mumbles, leaning over to the other side of Jaebum’s station after putting down her phone and coffee on the table. “This is mine! You took my notes again.”

“I was just borrowing it.” Jaebum said.

“Borrowing requires asking permission. I didn’t get any from you.” Jisoo said.

“I did. You just didn’t hear it.”

Jisoo was going to smack Jaebum in the head with the notebook when her phone suddenly chimed, startling both of them for a while. She then hit him while he was reaching for her phone.

“Hey!” Jeaebum cried.

Jisoo chuckles, thinking Jaebum’s reaction is because of her hitting him but he turned to her, showing her her phone.

“You’re on a dating app?” Jaebum asked with horrified eyes.

Jisoo turned pale in embarrassment.

“Is this what you meant by getting over him?” Jaebum asked, out of reflex.

Jisoo immediately snatches her phone back, making sure to hit Jaebum in his arm in the process.

“Shut up!” Jisoo said.

“Hey, you can’t do that! You’re still on the show, you can’t be seen looking for a boyfriend!” Jaebum nagged.

“You told me just a few days ago that I can drop out of the show.” Jisoo reminded him.

“And you declined!” Jaebum pointed out. “No taking back now.”

Jisoo rolls her eyes. “That’s for research, obviously. For the video we just filmed.”

“Still! What if someone sees you and they think you’re cheating on your boyfriend?” Jaebum persisted. “What if the show gets exposed?”

“I used a really old photo so people will think it’s an old account.” Jisoo insists. “No one will even match with me. I used a really unattractive photo.”

“Yeah? Then what’s that notification you just got?” Jaebum said.

That was when Jisoo looked into her phone and it was indeed a notification of her getting matched with some Kang Wo—she couldn’t even finish reading because she got an incoming call from Jennie.

Jisoo turned to Jaebum who saw Jennie’s name very clearly, wondering why she’s calling her and not him.

“Hey,” Jisoo greets.

“Hey,” Jennie greets back. “Are you still at the office?”

“Yeah. On Jaebum’s desk, specifically, he’s giving me looks.” Jisoo replied.

“I’ve been calling him but he’s not answering.” Jennie said.

“Oh yeah because he’s busy hacking my phone. What’s up?”

“Aren’t you going home yet?”

“Uh, getting ready. We just finished filming.” Jisoo walks to her desk and starts gathering her things. “Why?”

“I’m coming over.” Jennie replied. “Please. The Skype call was too stressful. Let’s do some face masks.”

Jisoo smiles. “Okay. See you in a bit—oh and, please, don’t break in and wait for me.”

Jennie giggles. “Yeah, yeah. I have to make dinner for Jaebum first, anyway. Isn’t he coming home yet?”

Jisoo shrugged as if Jennie can see her. “I don’t know but I’ll tell him you’re coming over. He’s eavesdropping, actually.”

Jisoo can see Jennie being giddy over the line.

“See yah.” Jennie said.

Jisoo mumbled a reply and they both hang up. Jaebum is waiting for Jisoo the entire call.

“She’s coming over.” Jisoo told Jaebum.

“Is she mad? She called me four times but I didn’t hear it.” Jaebum sounds like he’s in panic.

Jisoo just shrugged, took her bag and walks to the door, not giving Jaebum any answer. Jaebum, in panic, immediately calls Jennie.

“Hey, wait up!” Mark cried just before the elevator doors closed.

Jisoo immediately pressed the doors’ button and waited for her friend.

“You’re early tonight.” Jisoo says as soon as Mark gets in.

Mark replied with a nod.

The elevator ride is quiet. Not that it’s new, Mark rarely talks anyway, Jisoo is used to that. They are just a couple of floors away from the ground when Mark’s phones rings.

“Yeah?” he answers. “Yeah, yeah, I’m on my way. Wait for me.”

Mark hangs up, Jisoo is giving him looks.

“What?” he asked, putting his phone back to his pocket.

“You’re such a liar. On your way? You’re still at the office.” Jisoo said.

Mark smiles, his cheekbones forming upwards and his eyes are turning into crescent moons. “I’m in the elevator down, technically, I’m on my way.” He says with a cute voice as he steps out from the elevator.

Jisoo can only shake her head with a smile as she walks behind him, much slower, on their way to the employees’ parking space.

 

 

“ _Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our destination. Welcome to Incheon International Airport_.” The flight attendant makes her final announcement as the plane touches the ground.

Jinyoung yawns and stretches his arms discretely, careful not to wake up the lady beside him, the fourteen-hour trip made his body sore. A couple of minutes getting off the plane and a little bit longer at the airport entry and he is now, officially, back in South Korea.

He takes a deep breath as soon as he steps out of the arrival gate. He has nothing but his backpack on. It felt so different from when he first came back here months ago. Then, it was dreadful; it feels like he was just dragging himself to places. But this time, it was as if he was anticipating being back. He missed Seoul a lot more in the past months than he did in the ten years he was in New York. Being back home on his own is somehow liberating and exciting. It feels like a new start.

But in order to start anew, he needs to fix some things he left broken first.

He walks to the waiting area to have a rest and connect to the Internet. He needs to get in touch with Jackson. He initially planned to get home by a cab but Jackson insisted on picking up so he just let him be.

As soon as he has connected to the Internet, he was bombarded by messages and missed calls from Jackson. He hasn’t even opened one of them yet when his phone started ringing. It was Jackson, of course.

“Hey, man!” Jackson _screamed_ , as soon as Jinyoung answers the call, making him deaf. “Welcome back! Where are you? Just wait for a while. We’re on our way.”

Jinyoung sighs. “I told you I can just take a cab.”

“No! Wait for us!” Jackson insisted. “I had to beg Mark to give me a ride.”

“Mark?” Jinyoung echoed in surprise. “Why? Where’s Jaebum? And why didn’t you just use my car?”

“Jaebum is back to his almost-married life now.” Jinyoung heard a soft chuckle on the other line, which is probably Mark, as Jackson speaks. “And your car, well, your sister took your car back when she found out you left without telling her.”

Jinyoung wanted to argue but he can only sigh. Sooyoung is right for taking the car and it’s not like Jackson has any control about it.

“Just stay where you are and wait for us, we’ll be there in ten!” Jackson promised, hanging up.

While waiting for them, Jinyoung went to a Starbucks in the airport to grab some coffee and stayed there while waiting for them. He is sitting on the solo couch, his non-prescriptive specs on while reading _The Great Gatsby_ , not minding anything around him.

He turns the page of the book and a folded paper falls down on his lap. He took it and unfolds it, it was a written recipe of some pasta with gochujang sauce. Jinyoung couldn’t help but smile. Everything about it—the pink paper, the different colors of pens used, the tiny scribbles on the corner—everything about the note screams Jisoo.

Jinyoung’s smile turns wider. His heart racing in a mix of excitement and nervousness. He remembers the night at the vineyard, how beautiful the kiss was. He can still feel the cold breeze; he can see the bright stars above; and he can still feel her soft lips on his. It was a perfect night—if he’s not only coward, that night would’ve ended more beautiful. He would’ve talked to her, sort things out the next morning but Jisoo has already built a wall between them, shutting him down.

Jinyoung jolted in shock when his phone vibrates on his table, making the book and note fall on the floor. He quickly bents down, reaching for the book and the note but the note got blown away.

He puts the book down in the table and took his phone, answering it quickly because the vibration is irritating him already.

“Jinyoung! We’re here!” Jackson mumbles on the other line and Jinyoung quickly hangs up as soon as he knew where they are. He slung his bag on one shoulder and took the book and in one swift he moved to get the note before it gets blown away farther.

But it did.

Jinyoung grunts when it flew a couple of steps away, onto the entrance. He and the wind played some sort of game before he successfully got it. He folded it and slipped it on his pocket.

 

 

“How are you?” Jennie asks.

She is laying on Jisoo’s lap as she lathers a mudpack on her.

“I’m great. We wrapped up filming early.” Jisoo replied. Of course, Jennie wasn’t talking about her day at work but she chose to go the simpler path.

Jennie made a face.

“Hey, don’t move!” Jisoo protested.

“You know that’s not what I mean.” Jennie said.

Jisoo didn’t answer quickly. She focused on putting the mask on Jennie instead. She is halfway through putting the mudpack when she mumbled. “I thought we’re done talking about this.”

“I’m just checking on you.”

“I’m fine. I’m getting by.”

It wasn’t a lie, at least not entirely. Jisoo is really doing her best to move on. She’s distracting herself, making herself busy so she will not think about what happened and drown in her sadness. She’s doing pretty well, actually. She’s getting used to the mask she has; she herself is starting to believe the lie too.

But filming for Jinji’s next season is getting nearer, in a week to be exact, and just the mere thought of Jinyoung coming back and them working together again is giving her anxieties. Yes, she is distracted—for now. But what will happen when he comes back? When their world gets smaller again? When she has no other choice but to be with him and face her pain?

She should’ve just agreed when Jaebum offered to shut the series down. Now, it’s too late.

“How do you feel?” Jennie asked, her lips barely moving, afraid to mess up the mask.

“Scared.” Jisoo admitted.

“I’m sorry.”

Jisoo smiled weakly. “Hey, let’s not talk about this now, okay? We’re up to relax tonight.”

Jisoo finished with Jennie’s. Jennie positioned herself on Jisoo’s bed, her back laying flat while her legs are hanging on the side so she’s half siting-half lying down. While Jennie is getting comfortable on the bed, Jisoo reaches for her sheet mask from her bedside table. She put it on her face with no sweat. Once she’s settled, she took her phone and laid down beside Jennie, her legs hanging on the other side.

Jisoo is humming some melody while she checks on her notifications for the day.

“You want some delivery? I’m craving for tteokbokki.” Jennie mumbles.

“I had some earlier.” Jisoo replied bluntly, busy with her phone.

“Jjajjangmyeon?”

“Not in the mood.”

“Chicken?”

“Fu—FUCK!” Jisoo screamed, immediately sitting up after seeing the notification she got from the dating app earlier.

“What? What happened? What’s wrong?” Jennie panics, but couldn’t move much because the facemask hasn’t dried yet and she doesn’t want to ruin it.

“Oh my gosh, Jennie.” Jisoo says, wide eyes in surprise fixed on her phone.

“What? What is it?”

“Remember when I told you I signed up on this dating app and tried it for a while?”

“You’re still on the app? Jaebum’s gonna kill you.”

“I think he really will this time.”

“What?” Jennie is just desperate to snatch Jisoo’s phone.

“You know that guy from middle school that I found on the app? And we’re like ninety-three per cent compatible?”

“Wait, which guy was it again—oh! Kang Woohyun! The nerd you were totally crushing on.” Jisoo could only roll her eyes on at Jennie’s description. “What happened to him?”

“I think I accidentally swiped right at him.” Jisoo then moves in the bed, laying on her stomach and leaning on her elbows this time so they will be on the same direction. “And now we’re matched.”

“No shit!” this time, Jennie couldn’t help it anymore and turned to Jisoo to snatch her phone. A few lumps of the mudpack fall down as she stares at Jisoo’s eyes with surprise.

“What am I gonna do?” Jisoo asked.

“What do you mean? Delete the app!” Jennie replied.

“But…” Jisoo says, leaning over Jennie’s shoulder and staring at the profile. “Look at him, he looks _so good_.”

The guy—Woohyun—is looking neat on his profile. He’s wearing a crisp shirt, his chest and biceps are perfectly accentuated but other than that, he doesn’t look like the usual fuck boys you find on a dating app. His hair is nicely styled, he’s wearing dress shoes and photo looks like it’s taken on some brunch event.

“What do you mean _good_? He’s hot. The nice kind of hot.” Jennie agreed.

“Right? How can I say no to that?” Jisoo said.

Jennie turned to her. “You know what, for someone mending a broken heart, you’re thirsty.”

Jisoo blushed. She immediately snatches her phone from Jennie. “You make it sound so bad.”

Jennie sighs then, she lies down on his back again as she tries to fix her mudpack. “It’s such a bum.”

“Why?”

“Because you can’t date him.”

“Why can’t I? I’m single.”

“Yeah, but you’re in love with someone else.”

Jisoo felt a pang in her stomach because that is true and that someone doesn’t like her a bit.

“And I need to get over him.” Jisoo mumbles.

“Oh, Jisoo, please don’t do this.” Jennie pleaded. “You can’t ju—“

“I won’t do that, okay?” Jisoo cuts her off.

She may be in search of a distraction but this isn’t the type of distraction she’s gearing to.

***

 

“Next time, don’t even come back.” Sooyoung dared Jinyoung.

Jinyoung went over to her house to pick up his car and now he’s having his well-deserved scolding for breakfast.

“Do you realize how worried we were? We almost rushed Mom to the hospital because her blood pressure went up when she found out you left without saying a word.” Sooyoung explained.

“What?” Jinyoung asked, worried. “You shouldn’t have told her!”

Sooyoung took the closest thing to her—her makeup pouch—and hit Jinyoung with it. “You’re the one who should’ve told us when you left!”

“Ouch! That hurts!” Jinyoung protested but he let his sister with the assault. He deserves it and this scene makes a little bit warm inside, he missed her sister and this looks like they’re back during their teenage days.

“But I’m back now.” Jinyoung mumbles.

Sooyoung slowly puts her hand down. Jinyoung’s words are making her tear up. They both know his words mean more.

Jinyoung smiled widely. “I’m sorry for worrying you but your favorite brother is back now.”

 

 

Jinyoung drives Sooyoung to work after they had breakfast. They also called their mother and the breakfast was filled with yet another scolding.

“Oh, by the way,” Sooyoung mumbles as she fixes her hair looking at the overhead mirror of the car. “The Youtube series you’re doing, that’s fake, right?”

Jinyoung tensed. “Y-you’ve seen it?”

“I saw one episode in my timeline and I’m pretty shocked. It’s so random and,” she trails off before continuing. “It’s just impossible for you to be in a relationship that soon.”

Jinyoung fixed his eyes on the road, unsure on how to react. Then Sooyoung suddenly chuckles.

“Then, I saw that it’s from the company where Jaebum works so I just figured you two are behind it.” She said. “I wanted to ask you about it but I didn’t want you to feel like I’m intruding or something, so, I asked Jaebum instead.”

“You did?” Jinyoung asked, surprised.

“Yeah. I have his number and he actually texts me sometimes, asking me what’s up.” Sooyoung explained.

Jinyoung couldn’t help but smirk remembering how Jaebum used to have a huge crush on her sister when they were younger. “That fool.” He muttered to himself.

They pulled over Sooyoung’s office and she gave him a look before getting off the car.

“What?” Jinyoung asked.

Instead of answerjng, Sooyoung reached for his head and messed up his hair.

“Hey!” Jinyoung protested.

Sooyoung laughs. “You look happy in there. If it’s not too impossible to be real and if it’s not acting, I’d root for you two.”

Jinyoung breaks into a wide smile. “You said you just came across an episode?”

“Yeah but I got curious so I watched everything.” Sooyoung admitted.

“Don’t do that again.” Jinyoung said. “It’s embarrassing.”

“Oh, there’s more?” Sooyoung asked.

Jinyoung couldn’t answer.

Sooyoung reached for his head and ruffled his hair again.

“Introduce her to me next time, okay?” She said as she removes her seatbelt, ready to leave the vehicle.

“Call me!” She said just before she shuts the door.

Jinyoung shakes his head and fixes his hair through the rearview mirror before driving away.

It’s a Monday and traffic is just starting to get worse. Fortunately, he anticipated this and adjusted his meeting a little bit later so he won’t be late.

When he hit the red light, he pulled the overhead mirror to check on his hair and makes sure his crisp shirt is nicely buttoned. It’s been a while since he has been on a formal meeting and he’s feeling a mixture of nervousness and excitement in his guts.

He takes a deep breath of relief when he got to his destination with about thirty minutes to spare. He parked his car and went straight to the lobby; the security giving him a warm smile. He gets in the elevator, just in time before it closes.

“Wait!” A girl from outside calls.

The voice sounded familiar to Jinyoung that he immediately pressed the elevator doors button, not minding the fact that there are other people inside just waiting to get up.

“Thanks! Sorry.” Rosé pants as she squeezed herself inside the elevator.

She turned to her right, immediately bowing to thank the person who pressed the buttons.

“Oh!” She exclaims when she looks up and finds out who he is. “Jinyoung!”

Jinyoung smiled at her. “It’s been a while, Rosé.”

The surprise in Rosé’s face turned into excitement. “Hey! We missed you!”

The elevator doors open and a group of people left, leaving the elevator half-filled.

“I haven’t see you in a while, where have you been?” Rosé asked.

“Just organizing some stuff.” Jinyoung replied. “How’s everyone?”

“Great.” Rosé replied without thinking. “Loud as usual. We even hung out a few times with Jackson and Yugyeom but you never came. I thought you left the country or something.”

Another group of people left the elevator, leaving the two of them with three other people.

“I did.” Jinyoung said.

Rosé turned at him with surprise and confusion.

“The stuff I organized were in New York.” He explains and Rosé just nods, even though it’s still a bit confusing for her. “How’s Jisoo?”

“Huh?” Rosé mumbles. “You guys didn’t talk?”

Jinyoung shakes his head. “I was quite busy.”

Rosé nods again. “She’s working really hard these days. Way too hard, too many overtimes. But other than that, she seems fine.”

Jinyoung pursed his lips and nods.

The elevator dinged and the elevator doors open. Jinyoung steps out and Rosé, still in daze, follows but her mind immediately focused when she saw the two numbers on the wall—two-two—they’re on the twenty-second floor. Their floor is the twenty-third.

Rosé immediately turned to the elevator and pressed the buttons, afraid to miss it.

“Hey, Jinyoung!” She screamed before the doors close. “This is the wrong floor! Get in.”

“No, I get off here.” Jinyoung replied. “I have business here.”

Before Rosé can even ask what, the elevator doors close and she’s on her way up on the HQ. She got to the floor and entered the office still in daze, she almost didn’t notice that she went straight to her friends’ area instead of her desk.

“Hey guys,” she mumbles but everyone is too busy.

“Guys,” she repeats and that is when Lisa looks up from stealing pieces of Mark’s tater tots breakfast.

“‘Morning, Rosie!” Lisa said. “You okay? You look like the math equation meme.”

“I was with Jinyoung in the elevator and I just found out the he went to New York?” Rosé explained.

Jisoo felt like all the hair on her body stood up hearing the news. Jaebum gave her a look but she’s too stunned to notice.

“Am I the only one who didn’t know?” Rosé added.

“He went to New York?” Lisa asked in reply.

“I did.” Mark answered while munching. “But only when he got back. Jackson asked me to give him a ride picking Jinyoung up from the airport.”

“He didn’t even bother telling us prior? Geez, I thought we’re already friends.” Bambam mumbles.

“It’s probably an emergency.” Youngjae said. “Did he tell you guys about it?”

All heads turn to Jisoo and Jaebum and only Jaebum could come up with an answer.

“I-I didn’t tell you guys about it?” He mumbles. “I thought I did.”

They replied in a collective groan.

“Wait, so where is he now?” Youngjae asked.

“Well, that’s the weirder thing, he got off at the twenty-second, saying he has some business there.” Rosé replied.

“22? What will he do there?” Lisa asked. “What was there again?”

“HR.”

“Finance?”

Mark and Bambam answered in chorus.

“What will he do in finance?” Youngjae asked.

While the others are trying to figure out what’s up, Jaebum turns to Jisoo, gliding his chair closer to whisper, “You okay?”

It took Jisoo before turning to him, flashing a rather awkward smile.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Hey, Lalisa,” Jaebum turned to Lisa, ignoring Jisoo’s answer.

“Huh?” Lisa replied.

“Preprod tomorrow morning.” He said. “Jinji.”

Lisa squealed, excited for a second before she remembered something. “Shit, I have something tomorrow morning. I’m on leave, I’m picking my parents up at the airport.”

“Oh, they’re coming?” Bambam butts in, excited by the fact that someone from home are coming over.

“Yeah,” Lisa told him before turning back to Jaebum. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Jaebum assured. He paused, thinking, before he turned to Rosé. “Can you come? I need some of the social media data.”

“Huh?” Rosé got confused. “Why so sudden?”

“Uh, I want to review them.” Jaebum replied.

Rosé just nods. “Okay. I’m expecting free coffee, okay?”

Jaebum shakes his head. “Of course.”

He then turns back to his desk and found Jisoo looking at him, smirking.

Jisoo knows he hates the awkwardness they’re to feel once she and Jinyoung meet again. “Looks like you’re the one not okay having him around.”

 

***

 

“Yes, yes,” Jisoo speaks to the phone as she pushes the coffee shop’s door open with her shoulder, her hands occupied with laptop and papers.

“Are you sure you can make it here on time?” Jaebum asked.

Jisoo groans as she falls in line for the counter. “Of course. I’m just downstairs. Besides, it’s just us having a meeting, why are you so stressed over the time?”

Jaebum moved their preproduction meeting from morning to noon for some reasons he can only care of—Jisoo is too busy with her own work that she can’t even care about the reason anymore.

“Just get here on time, don’t make it more awkward.” Jaebum replied.

Jisoo couldn’t help but laugh. She felt like she should be offended but it’s funny how Jaebum is stressing over this.

Up until last night, Jisoo was nervous—she’s anxious about today. The thought of meeting Jinyoung is sending her too much anxiety that her acid reflux is worsening. She didn’t sleep a wink, thinking about what she should say—shall she say hi like nothing happened? Should she give him the cold treatment for not telling her anything? She doesn’t even know how to act the moment Jinyoung enters the room.

But this morning, surprisingly, she felt like nothing. Like she doesn’t care about it, just let the moment decide on what should happen and she’s somehow managed to be calm the whole morning. The only thing stressing her is Jaebum and the stuff she needs to finish for her dating app video.

“Calm down, Jaebum,” she assured before her turn in the counter. “I’ll be there in fifteen, twenty max.” Then she hangs up, not even waiting for Jaebum’s reply.

“Hi, Miss Jisoo!” Doyoung, the coffee shop’s new barista who instantly grew close to her and the rest of the crew—though Lisa insists the guy is way nicer to Jisoo than them—since he started working.

“Hey,” Jisoo greeted back.

“Caramel Macchiato with extra shot of milk?” Doyoung asks, even though he’s about ninety-percent she’ll get the exact same drink.

“Yes, please.” Jisoo confirms, putting down her things for a moment as she digs her card from her wallet as Doyoung takes the order.

“Here you go.” Jisoo hands him her card.

Doyoung finishes the transaction. “Please wait at the side.” He says handing Jisoo’s card with a warm smile reminding Jisoo of a younger brother, or cousin since she’s the youngest sibling.

“Thanks, Doyoung!” Jisoo replied, doing as she’s told.

Jisoo stayed at the other end of the counter where they serve the drinks. She puts her things down as she continues with the _Elite Daily_ article she was reading when Jaebum called.

A barista puts down a coffee in front of Jisoo and she absentmindedly reached for it even though her electronic coaster hasn’t beeped yet. Without checking, Jisoo takes a big sip and she jumps in surprise as her coaster beeps and the bitter taste iced Americano invades her tongue.

She immediately puts the drink away from her mouth and turns to her side where Doyoung is standing with her caramel macchiato, eyes wide in surprise.

“Miss Jisoo, this is your drink,” Doyoung mumbles.

“I can just give that to you if you want.”

Jisoo froze in her place, her hands felt colder the iced Americano. Her heart is racing in her chest, as if she just had a gallon of coffee. Her stomach churn and she feels like things are spinning around her.

“Hey,” Jinyoung mumbles sweetly with a smile just as sweet.

Noticing Jisoo’s tensed stature, Doyoung immediately walked from behind the counter to stand beside her.

“I’m sorry, Sir. You cannot do that here.” Doyoung says firmly.

Jinyoung was surprised and caught a little bit off guard with the younger man’s words. He’s offended and annoyed but he tries to calm himself down, thinking that the boy is just being a good employee—a little bit too good but he’s letting it pass.

Jinyoung inhales. “It’s okay, I know her.” He said, stepping closer.

Jisoo is still in daze so Doyoung instead steps closer, even stretches his arm as if to guard Jisoo. That’s what sent Jinyoung off. His expression suddenly darkens, giving Doyoung a look all the while, thinking why Jisoo isn’t doing anything.

“Hey, Jisoo,” Jinyoung tries to calm his voice. “Please tell this boy he’s mistaken.”

Doyoung, taken aback by how Jinyoung addressed Jisoo so comfortably, turns to Jisoo.

“Miss Jisoo, do you really know this guy?” Doyoung whispered, slightly tapping Jisoo’s arm.

Doyoung’s cold fingers pulled Jisoo from her chaotic thoughts.

“Huh?” She turned to Doyoung, then to Jinyoung and then back to the younger lad.

“Yeah, yeah, I know him.” She assured. “Don’t worry about it, Doyoung.”

Doyoung’s tensed body eased up.

“I got this. Sorry.” Jisoo mumbles.

Doyoung shots Jinyoung another feisty look before walking back behind the counter.

“Here’s your coffee, Miss Jisoo.” Doyoung reminded Jisoo.

Jisoo turned to him, reaching for her coffee. “Thank you, Doyoung.” She takes a deep breath before turning to Jinyoung.

“And I think you should get this instead, sorry for drinking your coffee.” She told him dryly.

Jinyoung couldn’t help but smile, all the tension he got from Doyoung is gone once he heard Jisoo’s voice.

“Are you okay? You seem out of focus.” Jinyoung asked Jisoo, taking the caramel macchiato.

“Huh?”

 _Are you fucking kidding me? This is all because of you_ was what Jisoo wanted to say but all she can answer is a mumble. “Just busy with work, I think.”

They stood there in silence, with nothing but the coffee shop noise, and complete almost unbearable awkwardness.

Jinyoung takes a sip of his coffee, waiting for Jisoo and admiring her.

“Excuse me,” A middle aged woman told Jisoo who’s blocking the pickup counter.

Jisoo turned to the woman and bowed while mumbling apologies.

“I think Jaebum is waiting for us now.” Jinyoung said. “Shall we?”

Jisoo nods.

They walk out of the coffee shop, Jisoo walking a step behind Jinyoung. Jisoo doesn’t know what to say and Jinyoung is just letting her think.

This is too much for Jisoo. She wasn’t prepared for this. She wasn’t even prepared for when they meet in the meeting and now something like this has to happen. Why did Jinyoung have to go to the coffee shop too anyway? Why can’t he just grab coffee on the road? There are loads of coffee shop from their apartment. Why does she have to deal with this dreadful trip back to the HQ?

How can Jinyoung even so act so cool like this? Jisoo figured she really meant nothing to him—or at least their friendship isn’t. If it does, shouldn’t he explain to her what happened in the past three months, at least? Not that Jisoo is demanding for one, but isn’t that just some basic manners?

“It’s been a while.” Jinyoung suddenly mumbles, failing to wait for Jisoo to get comfortable. “I mi—“

“ _It’s been a while_?” Jisoo echoes. “Really? That’s what you’re gonna say?”

“Huh?” Jinyoung turns to her in confusion.

“Where the fuck have you been?” Jisoo, unable to contain the mixed emotions and letting the annoyance win. “How can you just leave like that? Without saying a word? Do you resent _what happened_ too much that you couldn’t even say goodbye?”

“I-uh-no.” Jinyoung is overwhelmed. He has hoped that Jisoo missed him too but he wasn’t expecting to be scolded like this. “Look—“

“Sorry, I can’t do this. I’ll meet you upstairs.” Jisoo says. She feels bad saying that. She wanted an explanation and she just cut him off but this walk, the coffees in their hand, Jinji’s season two—she’s realizing her broken heart isn’t ready for any of that.

So she dashes away, leaving the stunned Jinyoung behind.

“Wha—hey, Jisoo!” Jinyoung tries to get hold of what just had happened but Jisoo is already running away from him.

Jinyoung wanted to take a moment and figure out what went wrong but he ran after Jisoo instead. By the time he gets inside the building, Jisoo is already inside the elevator which is packed with employees coming back from their lunch break. Jinyoung could’ve made it to the same elevator if not for the guy who beat him to it. He could only sigh, seeing the floors go up, still confused about Jisoo’s sudden reaction. Did he overestimated the situation when he thought she’ll miss him after those months?

By the time Jinyoung got to Post It’s brain room, Jisoo is already there panting, Rosé is sitting beside her, fanning her and Jaebum is leaning on the table with his arms crossed, glaring at Jinyoung.

Jinyoung could only sigh. “Sorry. The elevator was packed, I couldn’t get in.”

Jaebum acts like he didn’t hear anything and takes a seat. “Let’s make this quick for everyone’s peace of mind.” He then opens his laptop and hands Jinyoung and Jisoo papers. “That’s the list of dates this season. No bargain.”

Jaebum gave them looks before continuing. “We’ve found out that the viewers liked the episodes where you guys hangout at home instead of the fancy dates outside.”

“Yup.” Rosé agrees. “The episode with the most numbers of views are the movie night and DIY date night.”

“So, for this season, we’re adding more episodes that are laidback.” Jaebum discussed and lets the two go through the list.

“Supermarket date? Twenty-three questions?” Jisoo reads through the list. “Are you running out of ideas?”

Jaebum replied with a smug look so Rosé answered Jisoo’s question.

“Those are actually the viewers’ suggestions.” Rosé explained. “We asked them on Facebook and Twitter to suggest dates and the supermarket one topped.”

“That’s too corny.” Jinyoung mumbles and for the first time tonight, and probably for the last three months, Jisoo wanted to give him a hi-five.

“We owe everything to our viewers so we’re going to do out best to do what they want.” Jaebum said. “And I said, there’s no bargain this time.”

Jisoo sighs and Jinyoung just shrugs in agreement.

“Okay,” Jaebum said. “We’re filming the first episode on Friday.”

Jisoo felt her stomach churn. She knows filming is starting anytime soon but she still feels uneasy to work with Jinyoung again after all that happened.

“Treasure hunt?” Jinyoung asked, reading the first episode as stated in the list.

Jaebum smiled slightly. “Yes. We’re bringing you two on separate locations blindfolded and you have to find each other on your own. No phones. No clues. No script. No cheating.”

“What?”

“No script?”

Jisoo and Jinyoung said in chorus, silently agreeing that the idea insane.

Jaebum nods.

“That’s impossible. How are we supposed to find each other? You could bring us on the opposite ends of the country for all we know!” Jisoo argued.

Jaebum made a face. “Why would I do that? We don’t even have enough budget to film in two different locations. We’ll probably drop you off at some mall or something.”

Jaebum sighs, a little too heavy that all eyes turn to him, even Rosé. He took another couple of papers and hands it to the two. “That’s our filming schedule. Keep those dates in mind. I’m begging you.”

Jinyoung reaches for the paper first while Jisoo makes sure she shots a glare at Jaebum first, knowing very well that he’s referring to her poor memory.

Jaebum stands, letting the two read the schedule on their own. He walks to the corner of the room to have some water.

“Are you sure you’re going to let them find each other with no clues at all? What if they don’t find each other?”

Jaebum almost spilled his drink when Rosé started mumbling beside him with a whisper. He turned to her, her innocent looks is making him feel guilty of all the time he did bad. Then he sighs.

He studies his two friends, both of them intently reading the schedule, which he knows is nothing but an act. They’re definitely on each other’s edges and this season is already looking a lot tougher than the previous one. For probably the thousandth time, Jaebum resents himself for coming up with this stupid show and dragging his two best friends in. But karma is indeed a bitch so now, he’s stuck in this unique relationship, trying to play cupid.

Jaebum drinks his water before answering. “Trust me, they will.”

 

***

 

“Are you really running out of ideas, Jaebum?” Jinyoung asked.

Jaebum ignored him and continued driving.

“You know what, this blindfold is useless.” Jinyoung continued ranting. “I’m not familiar with the directions anyway.”

“We’re filming. Can you just shut up?” Jaebum finally answers while Youngjae, behind the camera filming Jinyoung, snorted a laugh.

Jinyoung was mummed and the rest of the trip were quiet again, Jinyoung once in a while spits random stuff just for the show’s content, until Jaebum pulls over.

“We’re here?” Jinyoung asked.

Instead of words, he was answered by Jaebum getting off the driver’s seat and opening the backseat. He let Youngjae get off first before guiding Jinyoung down so they can film his reaction.

Jinyoung takes off the blindfold when Jaebum tapped him. He had to adjust his eyes for a while, it has been dark shut for too long, before he realizes where he is.

“The subway station?” he asked after looking around. He wanted to curse Jaebum right there but he is on cam and he didn’t want to be videotaped saying profanities, even for bloopers. “Seriously?”

Jaebum smirked from behind the camera, enjoying watching his friend supress his annoyance. He knows well that Jinyoung isn’t too familiar with the current subway transport after living in New York for too long.

“Where’s Jisoo?” Jinyoung asked.

Very carefully, so the camera won’t get a glimpse of him, Jaebum then takes a piece of paper from his pocket and hands it to Jinyoung, making sure the camera won’t get a glimpse of him. The paper reads:

_A universe filled with stars—can you find your other half in this place where stars collide?_

“Universe? Stars?” Jisoo says after reading what’s written on the paper. “How can there be stars on a bus stop?”

Mark dropped them off at the bus stop near Bongeunsa Temple where they are starting the episode.

Lisa shrugs with a mischievous smile.

“Should I take the bus?” Jisoo asked.

“Of course, dummy.” Bambam, who’s filming her, couldn’t help but to answer earning him a quick slap from Lisa.

Jisoo rolled her eyes then walks to the map at the side of the bus shed. She examined the map carefully, thinking which stop can take her to the universe.

“Universe—planetarium? Are we meeting at the planetarium?” Jisoo continues, thinking deeply. “Gwancheon? Gwancheon Science museum? But how do I get there from here?” She once again turned to Lisa only to realize that she wont ever get a decent hint from her.

This is ridiculous. How can she solve this puzzle and get to the place with such a, literally, out of this world hint? She was going to get her phone to search place but she realized Jaebum confiscated it. She makes a mental note to hit Jaebum in the head once filming is done for coming up with a difficult task.

“Stars… stars… universe…” she mumbles over and over as she tries to think of the establishments around. She then moves her eyes on the chart of the bus schedules, examining the trips and where they can take her. “Universe… stars… universe… stars—STARS!”

Lisa jolted in surprise by Jisoo’s scream. She and Bambam exchange looks while Jisoo bursts into laughter.

“ _Filled with stars_?” Jisoo quotes the note as her laughter subsides. “You guys are lame.”

 

 

“You guys underestimated me.” Jinyoung chuckles as he fans himself with a tourist brochure he got from the local guide in the station. They are waiting for the train going to get off at Samsung station.

The train arrives and groups of people unloads the train, some of them giving them looks while others simply walk away, scared of the camera. Jinyoung helped an old woman get in then Jaebum and Youngjae follow behind him.

The trip wasn’t that long but it is enough for them to take a little bit of rest. Youngjae and Jaebum put their cameras down for now and took short footages with their phone—the difference of video quality will work in the episode anyway.

Jinyoung didn’t expect this to be this exciting. He was worried he’d get lost but it wasn’t entirely difficult. The subway station is filled with directions to get to his destination. Sitting in the train, he can feel his stomach twisting and turning from the excitement. He hasn’t cleared things up with Jisoo. In his defense, she was doing really great shutting him down. After the preproduction meeting, Jisoo just left the room without saying a word—which he actually deserve after all he’s done.

After that, he kept on trying to contact Jisoo but it’s to no use. She’s either out of reach or she won’t answer the call completely. It’s starting to get frustrating, actually. All he wanted is to explain, clear his name and maybe, just maybe if things are still where they are when he left them, they can continue where they left of. But that’s exactly what scares Jinyoung. With every unanswered call and unseen messages, he feels like Jisoo is drifting away. It feels like the things are slowly fading—and he can’t let that happen.

The music signalling they arrived at the station plays, waking Youngjae from his tiny nap while Jaebum and Jinyoung get on their feet. They get off the train, not minding to film since it’s going to be chaotic. They start filming after getting over the gates. This treasure hunt episode is more than just an episode for Jinyoung. This is his second chance.

So he walks further to the exit with his head high and shoulders firm. His steps are getting more eager as he gets nearer and nearer the exits. The natural light welcomes him as he steps out of the station, the COEX mall is just a few steps away from him.

Jinyoung takes a deep breath before continuing. This is his chance to prove Jisoo that he’s back and, this time, he has no extra baggage around.

It’s just him.

 

 

“Hey, Jaebum, where are you?” Lisa asked Jaebum as soon as he answered her call.

Jaebum looks around, he’s walking farther behind Jinyoung and Youngjae to make sure they can’t hear him.

“I don’t know.” He admitted. “But we’re already inside COEX. You?”

“We’re _here_ already.” Lisa replied.

“Here? In the Starfield Library?” he clarified.

“Yeah. I told you the filled with stars library is a giveaway hint.” She replied.

Jaebum let out sigh through his nose. “How is Jisoo doing?”

“You brought her in a library, of course she’s loving it.” Lisa replied. “I’m afraid we’ll lose her.”

“Keep her for a little more, looks like we’re heading there soon anyway.” Jaebum said then he hangs up.

Lisa puts her phone back on the pocket of her hoodie then she walks to where Bambam is.

“This is getting tiring.” Bambam whispered.

“Wanna switch?” Lisa offered.

“Yes please.” Bambam handed the camera to Lisa. He stretches his arms as soon as the gadget is away from him.

In front of them, Jisoo is scanning some books while there are two more between her arms. She can stay here forever, she thought. In this place, nothing else matters except getting lost in a fictional universe.

The hints Jaebum made is for grade schoolers. A part of her wishes that Jinyoung won’t find out where she is so that she can just stay here unbothered. But a tiny part of her hope he does, soon. Her mind and heart truly wants two different things when it comes to healing. Her mind says it’s forgetting while her heart says the answer is facing it.

For the past days, she has let her mind win the battle. She walks away, ignores and avoids. It’s immature but it’s working. Or does it? For a while it does. But after time passes, it’s getting tiring. Running away is exhausting and every time her heart gets tired, the hunger for healing doubles.

“Hey, Jisoo,” Bambam calls.

A whisper is not in his dictionary so, with his loud voice, he quickly got Jisoo’s attention. She looked up to him.

“Let’s change the spot.” He said. “There’s too much people in here.”

“Uh, okay.” Jisoo mumbles in agreement as she stands from where she’s sitting.

Bambam leads the way and Jisoo follows him. They walked from the center then went up the second floor through the escalator. Jisoo looks behind, initially for footage purposes but she ended up liking it. She can see the whole view of the library. The people walking in groups, some are alone with books or sitting in different spots.

Bambam quickly walks away once they reached the second floor, making sure he’s not in the frame of the camera. Meanwhile, Jisoo still in awe of the beauty of this place, walks around. She looks around, following the direction of the handrail.

The view is heart-warming. There is something about the presence of books that even in the pool of a busy crowd, Jisoo feels comfortable. She lets it get past her mind and straight to her heart. Maybe her mind is wrong. Maybe forgetting isn’t answer. Maybe it’s just a distraction. Maybe her heart is right all along—it is the one that needs healing after all.

From looking down, she turned ahead, on the other side of the library and there she found. Across the library, she found the answer. It’s neither forgetting nor facing.

It’s just him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soo jenbum are back together and jinji are still confused! hmm how do you feel about that????
> 
> let me know what you think about this! was it worth the wait or its a bit disappointing? lmao I'll accept anything! drop a comment here or tweet me! you can drop stuff on my cc too!
> 
> thank you! <3


	12. Saved

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ! M !

Adrenaline rushes through Jinyoung’s veins as he walks to the escalator, his steps getting faster as he gets closer. He’s grinning, way too wide that people might think he’s crazy or something. They are giving him looks, some are even whispering. It’s something he got used to with filming but this time, he doesn’t care about anything else. All he wants right now is to get to where Jisoo is.

He walks down the escalator, ignoring the sole purpose of escalators and almost forgetting that a cameraperson—who’s now struggling to keep up—is following him. He swims trough the crowd at the ground, bumping to few people and mumbling sorry. Behind them, Jaebum makes sure he apologizes properly and explains that they are in the middle of filming.

Jinyoung’s steps slow down when he got in the escalator, Youngjae and Jaebum can catch their breaths for a second. Jinyoung takes a deep breath, his heart racing faster as he gets near her. He felt his stomach churn with a mix of nervousness and excitement but he couldn’t help himself from grinning. It’s a feeling he hasn’t felt in a while; something he thought he’ll never feel again. He takes another deep breath as he takes the last step from the escalator.

And she’s there. Standing a little bit farther but he can perfectly see her warm smile. The twirling in his stomach stopped and his heart beats slower, like normal. There is really something about Jisoo that calms him down—the waves of his emotions and the storms in his mind—all of them; just a smile from her and Jinyoung finds peace. It’s keeping him safe and warm. _Yes_. Jinyoung thinks to himself. _This is what home feels like._

Jisoo walks to meet him, her steps slow and careful. They lock eyes as they walk to each other, their smiles growing wider with every step. Funny how this is technically not the first time they’re seeing each other and yet it feels like they yearn for each other more. The past days after their little argument made them miss each other more.

“Hey,”

“Hi,”

They mumble at the same time making them both blush and burst into soft giggles.

Jinyoung takes a step closer and pulls Jisoo in for a hug, catching her off guard but it didn’t take long before she hugs him back. It feels warm for both of them. Even though they are both yearning for each other, the hug remains comfortable.

“I missed you.” Jinyoung whispers to Jisoo’s ear. “I missed you so much.”

Jisoo felt her heart skip a beat. Jinyoung’s breath brushing in her skin is ticklish.

“Ew.” Bambam mumbles to himself. He and Jaebum are side by side, standing, watching a few steps behind.

Jaebum shot him a look.

“Isn’t this a little bit too much?” Bambam whispered. “It looks like we’re filming some melodrama series right now.”

Jaebum didn’t answer and just turns ahead.

“Is this scripted?”

“Did you instruct them to be this mushy?”

“Won’t the viewers vomit while watching?”

“It looks real.”

“Are we—ouch!”

Jaebum couldn’t take Bambam’s side comments anymore and hits him in the head.

“That hurts!” Bambam protested.

“Quiet on the set!” Jaebum hushed him and Bambam groans. “What are you even doing here, why aren’t you filming?”

Bambam’s lips turn into an innocent grin. “I switched with Lisa for a while. My arm hurts.”

“Hey, that’s your job!” Jaebum told him. “Go, take the camera from her. Enough rest.”

Bambam made a face before Jaebum pushes him to Lisa’s direction.

Jaebum crosses his arms, as he thinks to himself; _No. It can’t be this easy_.

 

 

“That was great, guys.” Jaebum says once they’re done shooting the first episode. “ _Too_ great.” He added, earning a giggle from Lisa and making Jinyoung and Jisoo blush.

“Let’s take five and we’ll start filming for the second episode.” Jaebum discussed.

“Episode two? Already?” Jinyoung asked.

“Yeah.” Lisa answered instead. “Starfield Lib is too pretty for only one episode. We’ll film the read-your-fave-book-out-loud episode.”

“Oh, the episode for the nerds!” Bambam commented.

“Just take a book here but hey,” Jaebum turned to Jisoo. “Just one book each, okay? We don’t have time to read two books each. And obviously, you’re just reading a few excerpts from the book.”

Jisoo frowned like a little kid.

“Go, grab your books. We’ll just prepare the set.” Jaebum said.

As instructed, Jisoo turned to the bookshelves behind her, looking for a book. Two things can only distract her from anything—food and books. The latter is doing perfectly well to distract her that she almost forgot Jinyoung is behind her.

“So what will you read?” Jinyoung asked, making Jisoo jolt.

“H-huh?” Jisoo nervously turns to him. He has his hands behind him, looking at her innocently.

Jisoo takes a step back, realizing how close they are to each other. “Uh, I don’t know yet.”

Jinyoung nods, walking towards the bookshelf. They quietly look through the books while Jisoo calms her excited heart.

“I’m sorry I left without word.” Jinyoung suddenly murmurs.

Jisoo slowly turns to him, waiting for him to continue with a hope that she’ll get a better understanding of why he left and where they are right now.

But he simply answered with a smile.

What does that mean? Was that supposed to make things okay? In the complex and complicated relationship they have right now, what does that bear? She has a lot of questions that she wanted to ask but she couldn’t even open her mouth to speak. What answer does she expect? Is she even ready for the answer?

“But I’m back now.” Jinyoung says.

That’s it? Is that the explanation she needs? Is that what she _wants_?

As if he can read her mind, Jinyoung reaches for her hand and takes it in his.

“Ready, guys!”

The intimate moment was interrupted by Jaebum’s roaring voice from the lobby, calling them to start filming.

Jinyoung turned down to check then turns back to Jisoo.

“Ready?” he asks then laughs when he realizes she hasn’t chosen her book yet. “Which book are you bringing?”

Jisoo wanted to focus, she really do. But Jinyoung casually holding her hand even though there are no cameras around is confusing her.

“Jisoo?” Jinyoung mumbles. “I’d love to just stay here and ditch filming but Jaebum’s gonna kill us both if we don’t get down there in an instant.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course.” Jisoo shakes the confusion away as she turns back to the bookshelf, nervously snatching her hand from him.

She tries her hardest to scan and search for a good book but she just can’t do it so she just took the most familiar book with her.

“Good choice.” Jinyoung told her. “Come on?”

It looks like Jinyoung is asking back for her hand but Jisoo wrapped her arms round the book, close to her chest, instead and walks ahead to the escalator. They got on the escalator even without her glancing back at him.

The setup is at the steps of the main bookshelf. Since the concept is some sort of a library date, there isn’t much effort in the set. They just had to arrange some of the books so that’ll look good as a backdrop.

“ _Norwegian Wood_?” Jaebum says when he saw Jisoo’s book. “Really?”

“What? You said favorite book. This is _one_ of my favorite books.” Jisoo replied.

Jaebum stared at her, judging her, as if she’s missing something then sighs. “Whatever. I want you to chose some parts there to read out loud later. This episode will go with you two talking through the quotes. You’re not allowed to say anything else aside from the quotes until the spiels later. Okay? Pick the parts and we’ll start in five—“

“You said we’ll start in five _five_ minutes ago.” Jisoo mumbles.

Jaebum takes all the patience he can get knowing that Jisoo always gets savage when she’s nervous. “Just go and choose the excerpts you want, _please._ We’ll start framing.”

Jisoo takes a seat at the wooden steps and Jinyoung follows her, laughing.

Jisoo ignores him and starts scanning the book. She knows the novel through and through that she can easily find her favorite quotes with no sweat.

“That’s your favorite book?” Jinyoung asked

“Yeah,” Jisoo answered, focused on the book. “Read it in college and about five times more since.”

Jinyoung nods. “I’ve read it once too. A year ago, didn’t help much.”

Jisoo’s fingers froze. It was only then that she realized how much the book resembles Jinyoung’s current heartbreaks.

“Uh y-yeah,” Jisoo stutters thinking of ways to change the topic. “Hey, you didn’t get a book.”

Jinyoung smiled. “I have one already.” Then he takes the _The Great Gatsby_ book he’s been reading for the past three months.

“You know we’re filming this today?” Jisoo asks, shutting the fluttering feeling in her heart.

“Huh? No. I just have it with me all the time.” Jinyoung replied.

“Okay!” Jaebum called everyone’s attention. “Start in three, two…”

“Rolling!”

Jisoo and Jinyoung take deep breaths.

“Okay,” Jinyoung started. “Ladies first?”

Jisoo nods. “Yeah, you start.”

Jinyoung just grins, shaking his head, as he opens his book and starts reading.

“ _And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer._ ”

Jinyoung concludes his first quote with a smile, looking directly at Jisoo’s eyes. She stared right back, blankly, for a moment before turning down to her book and starts reading.

“ _I’m not totally mad at you. I’m just sad. You’re all locked up in that little world of yours and when I try unlocking the door, you just sort of look up and go back right in._ ”

Jinyoung was taken a back. He couldn’t help but turn to Jaebum with a half-offended, half-amused look. Jaebum, who’s obviously enjoying and trying his best not to burst into laughter, just shrugged at Jinyoung and signalled him to continue.

Jinyoung turned back at Jisoo and she simply pursed her lips innocently.

He then sighs, with a hint of smile, as he continues reading.

“ _For a moment, the last sunshine tell with a romantic affection upon her glowing face, her voice compelled me forward breathlessly as I listened—then the glow faded, each light disserting her with lingering regret, like children leaving a pleasant street at dusk._ ”

Jinyoung finishes and he prepares for what Jisoo has in her sleeves next.

“ _Every once in a while she’ll get worked up and cry like that. But that’s okay. She’s letting her feelings out. The scary thing is not being able to do that then your feelings build up and harden and are inside, that’s when you’re in big trouble._ ”

This time, a smile flashes across Jinyoung’s face. A soft, gentle smile, then he continues.

“ _He had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced, or seem to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you want to be understood, believe in you as much as you would like to believe in yourself._ ”

Jisoo nods when Jinyoung finished and continued reading her. She honestly doesn’t know why she ended up choosing these parts of the book but it seems like these words are what they need to hear right now.

“ _No truth can cure the sorrow we feel from losing a loved one. No truth, no sincerity, no strength, no kindness can cure that sorrow. All we can do is see it through to the end and learn something from it. But what we learn will be no help in facing the next sorrow that comes to us without wanting._ ”

That’s what hit Jinyoung the most. It went straight to his heart. It was a bit painful at first but he chose to let it be. To accept it in his heart.

He smiled at Jisoo, who’s looking at him with a hint of regret and worry. He puts down his book and reaches for her hand as he starts.

“ _But who can say what is best? That’s why you need to grab whatever chance you have of happiness when you find it, not worry about other people too much. My experience tells me that we get no more than two or three chances in a lifetime, and if we let them go, we regret it for the rest of our lives._ ”

 

 

“So what was your point?” Jaebum asked Jisoo.

They are at the Starfield Library’s entrance, waiting for Lisa to finish settling some stuff and for Jinyoung who went to the restroom.

“What? Nothing.” Jisoo pouts. “I just… I needed to make good use of Norwegian Wood.”

Jaebum shakes his head. “He seems to take it well.”

Jisoo nods. He did. It surprised her that Jinyoung accepted it so lightly but she’s also thankful he did.

“Are you going to put that in?” Jisoo asked.

“Which one?”

“The last part. When he quotes Norwegian Wood instead.”

Jaebum nods. He remembers telling Jinyoung to read the book a year ago, when the wound was still fresh. He thought it’s going to make his friend feel better, make him accept what happened easier, but Jinyoung hated it. Jaebum has no idea he put it to heart to recite a quote without reading.

“Yeah,” Jaebum replied. “I think I will. It’s a good take.”

Jisoo just nods, Jaebum can’t read what her expression says.

“Hey, here are your phones, by the way.” Jaebum suddenly says, pulling Jisoo from overthinking. He took their phones and gave both to Jisoo. “Just give Jinyoung’s to him later.”

“Jaebum!” Lisa called. “A little help here.”

Jaebum then went to Lisa, leaving Jisoo alone by the entrance. Bambam and Youngjae are already waiting in their car. Jisoo is just waiting by the door, absentmindedly, when Jinyoung’s phone started ringing. Confused and startled with the sudden call, she immediately answered it, forgetting that it’s not hers.

“Jinyoung?” It was only when Jisoo recognized that it’s Jackson that he realized it’s Jinyoung’s phone. She was going to tell him it’s her but Jackson continued talking.

“Hey man, a box came in with Jessica’s name in it? Where should I put it?”

Iisoo felt her stomach churn and her whole body froze.

“Jinyoung? Hey? Are you there?” Jackson asked.

Jisoo cleared her throat. “I’ll tell Jinyoung about it.”

“Ji-Jisoo?” Jackson stuttered on the other line but Jisoo chose to hang up instead of confirming.

She put the phone away from her ear and when the call successfully ends, she was greeted by Jinyoung’s wallpaper—it’s a girl on her back. She’s just casually walking on the street, nothing really special about it but it’s captured perfectly. Her hair is gently blown by the wind, one hand is keeping from being blown away completely and the sun shines bright above her. Jisoo can’t see her face but she knows _she_ is beautiful.

Of course. Jisoo is a fool to believe there is a tiny bit of hope for her and Jinyoung. Bringing herself to think they have a chance together is embarrassing, especially when it’s pretty obvious that it’s still _her._ Just _her_ in Jinyoung’s heart.

 

 

Jisoo sighs heavily after taking a shot of soju, creating a loud thud when she puts down the glass. She crashed Jaebum and Jennie’s place after filming, still overwhelmed about the events of the day.

“How can I be that stupid? Huh?” She asked, turning to her friends in front of her.

Jaebum just sighs while Jennie frowns at her.

“I mean, I was okay. Sort of okay. I was doing well shutting him down! But, ugh,” Jisoo groaned then slaps her chest. “This fucking thing in here is vulnerable. He just smiled at me so sweetly and I already think we’re okay? That _we_ are okay? Stupid!”

She reaches for the soju bottle and pours herself a drink, creating a mess when it overflowed. She didn’t care about it though, she just went straight taking the shot, a few drops spilling in her chin.

Jaebum, who has one arm resting on Jennie’s chair, leaned in to whisper, “She’s gonna pass out soon.”

Jennie sighed. “What the hell happened earlier? Why is she like this again? Did you do something again?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Jaebum denied. “They were perfectly fine earlier! They’re even grossly sweet.” He fakes a vomit.

“Then why is she like that?” Jennie asked.

“Hey, you two!” Jisoo called. “How can you act like that? How dare you two act so sweet in front of your broken-hearted best friend?”

The two quickly detach themselves from each other.

“You know what,” Jennie stands and walks to Jisoo. “You need to take some rest. Let’s talk about this tomorrow, okay? When you’re sober.”

Jennie tries to lift Jisoo by her arms but the latter is much stronger, Jisoo basically just brushed her off. Jaebum got to his feet and walked towards Jisoo to help his girlfriend carry her.

“Wait, where is she gonna sleep?” Jaebum asked, stopping a step away.

“In the bed, of course.” Jennie replied.

“Then where are you sleeping?”

Jennie gave him a look. “Of course in the bed too! You want to sleep next to her?”

“No!” Jaebum protested. “Then where will I sleep?”

Jennie sighed. “The couch is big enough for you. Now get here and help me, please.”

Jaebum groans and takes Jisoo by the arm, standing her up with no sweat.

Jisoo groans when Jaebum is lifting her up on his back. “How can I even think that?” She continued. “How can I ever think that there is a tiny bit chance for I and Jinyoung? When we all know it’s still her etched in his heart?”

“Wait, wait,” Jaebum puts her down again, then faces her. “What? What are you talking about?”

Jisoo scoffed. “Don’t act like you don’t know.”

Jaebum, on the floor, looks up at Jennie who’s behind Jisoo.

“What do you mean, Jisoo?” Jennie asked.

“Jinyoung! He’s still in love with Jessica, of course.” Jisoo mumbles. “He has a box at home with her name in it and his phone wallpaper is a _very beautiful_ photo of her.”

Jisoo’s voice cracked before she passes out on Jaebum’s shoulder.

Jennie and Jaebum exchange looks.

“What did she say?” Jaebum asked.

“His wallpaper is _still_ Jessica?” Jennie replied.

“That asshole.” Jaebum mumbles.

“Let’s just ask her tomorrow or you can ask Jinyoung tonight,” Jennie suggests. “But please, let’s bring her to the room. She needs to wash up before she completely pass out.”

Just when Jennie is about to help her get into Jaebum’s back, Jisoo suddenly throws up, making a mess on the floor and in Jaebum’s shirt and shorts.

“Fuck!”

“Oh my gosh!”

Jaebum and Jennie exclaimed, trying to do something but it’s too late because Jisoo already made mess on the floor and on Jaebum’s clothes.

“She definitely needs to clean up now.” Jennie said.

“Yeah, and me too.” Jaebum grunted.

Jennie guided the half asleep, half drunk Jisoo get on Jaebum’s back. They then brought her to their room where Jaebum left them. Jennie went to the bathroom to get some warm towels to wash Jisoo with. After cleaning Jisoo’s face, Jennie took some clothes for Jisoo to change with but since she is to drunk to even move on her own, Jennie could only help her change into a fresh shirt. Jennie tucked Jisoo to sleep, letting her use her pillows and lending her a new blanket.

Once she’s sure Jisoo is asleep, Jennie walks back out to the kitchen to check on Jaebum. When she got out, Jaebum is in the guest bathroom. The door is slightly opened so Jennie can hear him grunt, as he washes his shirt on the sink, the hem of his shirt is way too wrinkled and wet now. Jennie stayed a few steps away, just watching Jaebum.

It didn’t take a while before Jaebum’s frustration won and he ends up taking his shirt off. He took the handheld shower to wash his now stinky abdomen.

“What are you looking at, pervert?” Jaebum suddenly says, making Jennie jolt in surprise as if she’s guilty.

Jaebum turned at her, giving her a teasing look that eventually melts in a soft smile.

“Let me help you with your back.” Jennie offers, stepping inside the bathroom.

Jaebum turns around. He holds the shower from his shoulder as Jennie cleans his back.

“She’s asleep?” Jaebum asked without turning his back.

“Yeah,” Jennie mumbles. “As expected.”

Jaebum chuckled.

“You said things are fine now with Jinyoung?” Jennie asked.

“It is.” Jaebum replied with no hesitation. “They’re just both not good at this. They’ll figure this out.”

Jennie sighs. “Please.”

Jaebum didn’t say anything anymore as Jennie finishes up. Jaebum started humming softly, he’s humming that same untitled song he made for her. This moment is too beautiful then it hits her. Pain strikes in her chest when she remembered that she’s going to leave all of this again and how soon it is now.

“What is it?” Jaebum suddenly asks.

“Nothing.” Jennie replied. “I’m just tired.”

Jaebum then turned to the mirror to check on Jennie but it’s impossible to see her small figure behind his broad back. He simply straightened his back, knowing exactly what _tired_ means but letting her to say it on her own.

Once Jennie is done, Jaebum switched the shower off and returned the handheld shower back. Jennie gently wrapped her arms around his waist, careful not to startle him. She wrapped her arms tighter when he didn’t protest, her soft cheeks resting on his broad back. Jaebum’s now wet joggers is barely adding distance between their bodies.

Jaebum was about to turn around when he suddenly felt Jennie’s lips on his back. It didn’t take long before she started peppering his back with kisses—from his shoulder to his nape, tickling him a bit.

That was when Jaebum turns around.

“Hey, hey,” he mumbles, his wet hands are up so Jennie won’t be drizzled with water. “You sure about this? Jis—“

Jennie shut him up with her lips, pulling him down by his neck. She’s kissing him hard and passionate, her tongue immediately asking for access. How can he say no to that? So he kissed her back, as hard and as passionate as she does—if not harder and even more passionate.

He’s too strong for her that she takes a step back as the kiss gets deeper. He pushed her on the wall as their lips are busy dominating each other, not leaving any part unmarked. He then wraps his arms around her waist and lifts her up, forgetting that he’s wet, and making her white shirt drenched. He has one hand wandering on her back, past her shirt, while the other is on her thigh for support. Simultaneously, she wraps her legs around his waist and pulls him closer.

He effortlessly steps out of the bathroom even with his hands and lips occupied. It is impossible to breathe properly with this much passion so they break the kiss as soon as they reached the couch. He gently lays her on the couch then, in an instant, their lips continue its waltz, this time their hands are joining and exploring every curve of their bodies.

She was trying to flip their position and he was quick to catch on so he sits up then carries her and places her onto his lap. She straddles him as he pulls her closer, his hands sliding from her waist down to her thighs. He kisses her on her shoulders up to her neck then to her jaw.

Jaebum moves his lips from Jennie’s chin back to her lips. He was in the middle of thinking where and how they will continue this with Jisoo around when he felt something wet and salty on her cheek. Jennie is crying.

Jennie looks up to him. She puts her hands back to his neck and pulls him to another kiss. This time it was softer but with sorrow in it.

“I’m leaving in three weeks.”

 

 

Jisoo wakes up in the middle of the night, or dawn, she’s too dizzy to care. She sits up on the bed as she scans the room, looking for Jennie. Realizing she’s alone, she looks for her phone instead but then she remembers that she left it on the living room—or that’s what her half-sober brain tells her. She gets off the bed and exits the room to retrieve her phone.

When she steps out, she found Jaebum and Jennie—fully clothed, she’s glad—on the couch sleeping. Jisoo went back to the room to get their blanket. She walks to them and covered them with it. She then quietly walks past them, going to the kitchen to get some water before looking for her phone with the tiniest sound she can make. A few minutes later, she finally found her phone; there on top of the fridge. On how it got there, she’s not sober enough to remember.

She left the glass she used in the sink, making a mental note to wash it tomorrow instead of right now and make a noise. She feels bad about her couple best friends for letting them sleep on the couch but it’s not like she can tell them to evacuate it and move to their bed so she just walks back to the room.

She lies down on the bed and checks her messages. There are quite a handful of messages and notifications. Most of the messages are from Jinyoung, which she chose to ignore right now. She went through her notifications instead. There’s a couple of tags in Twitter and Instagram from people who saw them filming in the library earlier. She went through some of them but it just reminded her of Jinyoung so she ended up ditching that too.

She was going to give up with her phone and just try to sleep when she found another one down below her notifications. It’s from the dating app, some sort of reminder about the match she had the few days ago. She was going to the delete the app but she got reminded of her match. Kang Wooohyun. She opened the app and went to his profile, looking through his photos and basic information.

She couldn’t help but smile. She suddenly remembers that boy in middle school who sent butterflies to her stomach whenever their arms brush in the library during their group study sessions. It’s weird yet nostalgic how they meet—or rather how she saw him—again on a dating app after years of not seeing each other. A lot of things seem to have changed. Woohyun looks less nerdy now and more of a hottie, though he still looks like he’s the same smart boy. Jisoo reads his profile and finds out that he’s now a pro bono lawyer, focusing on juvenile cases. Her heart fluttered a little bit. She’s glad he is still the nice guy as she remembers him. She wonders how it’ll going to be when they meet and catch up. She sighs. She’ll probably just find other ways to reconnect and not through this app.

Jisoo is ready to delete the app but when she was hitting the back button, for some weird or drunk reasons, she hit the message button instead. She jolted in surprise that she accidentally hit the automated messages and sent a _hi_ to Woohyun.

“Fuck!” Jisoo gasped, helplessly staring at her screen with wide eyes.

She is more determined to delete the app now but she suddenly received a notification from the app. It’s a message from Woohyun.

She opens the message and found a short _hey_ from him. She just stares at the message window, waiting as it indicates that Woohyun is in the middle of typing. About an eternity later, Jisoo’s anxious timeframe tells her, Woohyun sent a smiling emoji.

Jisoo doesn’t know what to do. What should she do right now? Should she just delete the app? But she’s meaning to catch up with him anyway, all the child crushes aside, so why can’t she reply? She can simply discuss why she’s on the app. She’s not here for the dating anyway and that’s the truth. She’s sure Woohyun will understand.

So with a deep breath, Jisoo replies.

How are you?

Jisoo hits send without thinking and waits for Woohyun’s reply which came shortly after.

I’m great. But for the record, you’re Kim Jisoo, the noodle girl, right?

Jisoo beamed into a smile. She remembers how the kids from school always called her the noodle girl because their noodle restaurant is near the school and everyone basically loves their noodles.

Yup. That’s me. And you’re Woohyun the Great.

It’s a nickname Jisoo gave him. She always admired how Woohyun is good at anything—academics and sports—he’s acing in all fields so she called him that nickname.

Woohyun:

You still remember me.

Jisoo:

Of course I do! How can I forget my school’s best student?

Woohyun:

:)

Jisoo:

So you’re a lawyer now?

Woohyun:

Yes and you are… I see you around.

You’re in that company doing internet content, right?

Jisoo:

Yeah

Woohyun:

Aren’t you in a relationship? I saw that series you’re in

Jisoo:

I.. no it’s complicated

Woohyun:

It doesn’t look complicated

Are you doing this behind your boyfriend’s back?

Look, it was nice talking to you again but sorry, I can’t do this

Jisoo:

No, trust me, it isn’t like that

_Kang Woohyun blocked you. You can no longer reply to this message._

“What the fuck?” Jisoo’s eyes widened in complete shock. Her mind is thinking of ways to turn back time even though she knows it’s impossible. She got cornered, exposed and is now greatly offended.

 

***

 

The morning is quiet and calm. Jennie and Jaebum silently agreed not to talk about last night yet—at least not when they have a guest at home.

They are preparing breakfast, something they don’t usually do since they often skip breakfast but since Jisoo around and they all need something to lift up their moods, they whipped anything that they can in the kitchen.

“She’s not up yet?” Jaebum asked after glancing at their clock.

“I’ll check.” Jennie replied then she walks to their room.

When Jennie got there, she found Jisoo sitting on the foot of the bed, wide awake.

“Hey, you’re up.” Jennie says walking to her. “Let’s eat breakfast.”

Jennie tapped Jisoo on her shoulders but she remained unfazed.

“Did you even sleep? Your eyes look so heavy!” Jennie said after checking on her.

“I did something terrible last night.” Jisoo mumbles.

“Well, it was a mess but it’s not that terrible.” Jennie assured as she sits beside Jisoo.

“Jaebum’s gonna kill me.”

“He was annoyed but he got over it quickly.”

“Wait, he knows already?” Jisoo turned to Jennie and grabbed her by the arms.

Jennie look puzzled. “How can he not know when you literally threw up in front of him?”

Jisoo looked disgusted. “I threw up in front of him?”

“Yes! That’s not the mess you’re talking about?”

Jisoo shakes her head.

“Kim Jisoo, what did you do?”

Jisoo bites her nails, thinking if she should tell Jennie about it.

Outside the room, Jaebum is setting up the table when their doorbell rang. He didn’t want to get it. Jisoo is already too much of a visitor this early but it’s not like he can just brush it off so he went and opened it.

“Jinyoung? What are you doing here?” Jaebum asked when he found his best friend behind his door.

“Is Jisoo here?” Jinyoung asked back.

Jaebum’s eyebrows furrow. “Why? What happened?” He involuntarily steps back as Jinyoung steps inside.

“I kept on calling her but she’s not answering.” Jinyoung replied. “I went to her house but she’s not there. I need to talk to her.”

“Jinyoung, it’s eight am. You went to her house this early? When did you become a freak?” Jaebum said.

Jinyoung groaned. “This is Jackson’s fault.”

“What happened?”

“Some stuff from New York came yesterday and he told Jisoo that it’s Jessica’s things in there.” Jinyoung replied.

Jaebum gave him a puzzled look.

“Well, he called me to tell me about those boxes but Jisoo ended up getting the call and that fool just went on talking without even checking who he’s talking to.” Jinyoung explained.

“Of course it’s your phone, how can Jackson expect Jisoo to answer it? Don’t just put the blame on people.” Jaebum said. “Why do you even have her stuff? I thought you cleaned up already?”

“It’s Jessica’s personal stuff that I have to give to her parents. But they’re not in New York anymore. I have yet to know where they’re living right now so I brought it over for the meantime.” Jinyoung explained, regret is evident on his voice.

Jaebum can only sigh. “Then how about your wallpaper? Why is still Jessica?”

“What? My wallpaper?” The regret in Jinyoung’s eyes turn into confusion.

“Your phone wallpaper.” Jaebum replied. “Jisoo said she saw it and she claims it’s a _very beautiful_ photo of Jessica.”

“What?” Jinyoung replied, his confusion now has a hint of annoyance. “My wallpaper?” He takes his phone from his pack and shoved it in Jaebum’s face. “That’s her. It’s Jisoo.”

Jaebum took the phone and looked at photo very intently before bursting into laughter. It’s obviously Jisoo.

“She’s so stupid.” Jaebum said, returning Jinyoung’s phone.

Jinyoung takes his phone with a glare after hearing Jaebum call her stupid.

“Well, you learned your lesson, man.” Jaebum says. “You won’t get through her with just your sweet nothings, Jisoo is much more than that.”

Jinyoung turned away in guilt. He knows exactly what Jaebum is saying but got scared. He opted for the easier way and now he has paid the price.

“HEY, KIM JISOO!”

The two men immediately ran to the room when they heard Jennie’s scream. Jaebum swinging the door open aggressively without even knocking. They were greeted by the two women slumped on the bed, Jisoo’s hand covering Jennie’s mouth while she resists.

“What happened?”

“Are you okay?”

Jaebum and Jinyoung asked, respectively, in panic. Jisoo’s eyes widen in horror when she realized that Jinyoung is there too.

“What are you doing here?” Jisoo asked.

“I’m looking for you.” Jinyoung replied.

Jisoo’s heart skipped a beat. “Why?”

“We need to talk.”

“Let go of me!” Jennie screamed.

“Kim Jisoo, what the hell are you doing?” Jeabum asked, getting Jennie away from Jisoo.

“Oh, shit, sorry.” Jisoo says, letting her go.

In the process of releasing Jennie, Jisoo’s phone fell on the ground, right in front of Jinyoung. He then picks it up, Jisoo and Woohyun’s message thread greeting him.

“You’re on a dating app?” Jinyoung asked, he can’t really point out what to feel about it but anger is on top.

“Give that to me!” Jisoo protested, jumping onto Jinyoung to snatch her phone but Jinyoung shielded it with his arm.

“I thought you deleted the app?” Jaebum asked.

“He thinks you’re cheating on me.” Jinyoung scoffed.

“What? You talked to someone and you got caught?” Jaebum is boiling in anger that he left Jennie on the bed to stand beside Jinyoung and check Jisoo’s phone.

“What the fuck?” Jaebum said. “What if he exposes you? The show?”

“Why are you even talking to another guy when you’re in a relationship?” Jinyoung added.

Jisoo exhaled exasperatedly. She’s embarrassed, annoyed, defeated and just completely hurt.

“First of all,” Jisoo’s voice is trembling and she’s close to tears. “Why are you all stopping me to do things? I know him and he’s not someone who will expose such things. He’s just surprised.”

She takes another deep breath, trying so hard not to break into tears and failing to do so. Jennie walks beside her, her heart breaks seeing her best friend like this. She hates herself for overreacting and getting attention.

“Second,” Jisoo manages to continue and she turns to Jinyoung. “We are not in a relationship so who are you to question me if I go on a dating app and talk to other guys? We’re not even close to being a _thing.”_

Both Jaebum and Jinyoung got stunned with the sudden break down making it easier for Jisoo to snatch her phone back. She shoved her phone to her back pocket, took her things from Jennie’s dresser, then walks out of the room. Her steps are hard and angry as she walks straight out the apartment, leaving her best friends stunned and Jinyoung hurt straight to the gut.

 

***

 

It’s been two days since the library and reading out loud filming, Jisoo (apparently) throwing up on Jaebum, Jisoo’s dumb chat with Woohyun and the whole argument between her and Jinyoung and Jaebum but Jisoo has yet to talk to any of them. Over the weekend, Jisoo stayed rolled up in bed, ignoring anything that will require her to socialize with anyone.

Luckily, Woohyun hasn’t done anything to expose her and her _cheating_ ass. She’s really quite disappointed. She has known Woohyun as this nice guy who barely does anything that will harm others, she didn’t expect him to be that bold and talk to her like that. But then again, in his mind, Jisoo is a slut who cheats on her boyfriend and talks to people in a dating app. So, technically, he is still being a decent guy here. Jisoo just wishes he could’ve given her a chance to explain. She feels bad that her childhood crush sees her as a cheating woman now.

In the less unfortunate side of things, Jisoo can’t run away from Jaebum forever. She has to face him and her previous tantrums won’t change the fact that she put Jinji in jeopardy by doing something irresponsible like that. She’s determined to talk things out with Jaebum, that’s why she went to the HQ extra early. She’ll apologize hoping that Jaebum will hear her out when she says that she acknowledges and regrets what she has done.

What Jisoo doesn’t know how deal to with right now is Jinyoung. She can never wrap her mind around him, she just can’t. She thought what she wants is to move on from him, forget about her broken heart and just let it heal on it’s own but it didn’t work, because, who was she fooling? She can never move on from a smile she sees everyday. Then, there was that tiny bit of hope that he showed, making her believe that it’s all going to work fine; that things are now better. Was she read the signs and signals wrong? Did she misinterpret that no sign and thought it was a yes? Just when she thought she’s ready to face it and just let fate decide how things will go, shit happens and now, she’s more afraid to face him.

Jisoo takes a deep breath while waiting for the elevator. It’s quite early so there isn’t much crowd waiting with her. She looks around, just out of habit, and she immediately regrets doing so. Because when she turned at the lobby, she saw Jinyoung walking in. She panics. She immediately turns ahead and clutched her hands on her bag. He can’t see her. She can’t face him right now. What is he even doing here this early. Her clutch turns tighter as she prays for the elevator to come quicker.

When the elevator doors open, she immediately hopped in. She heard Jinyoung call for the elevator but the door closes even before he can reach for the buttons.

“Why is Jinyoung here?” Jisoo asked Jaebum as soon as she gets to her desk.

“Whoa, good morning too and sorry for walking out the other morning.” Jaebum replied, putting down his coffee.

Jisoo turned pale. She forgot her plan of apologising because of Jinyoung.

“Sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I shouldn’t have done that.” She says putting down her bag. “If it’s any consolation, I hate myself so much right now for being so fucking stupid.”

Jaebum smiled weakly. “Glad you know.”

Jisoo made a face.

“But sorry too for reacting that way, I just panicked.” Jaebum admitted. “I’m still worried, if you’d ask me.”

Jisoo sighs. “I’m really sorry. Don’t worry. I’m planning on getting his contact information and talk to him, explain stuff—I’m willing to track his house or work down if I need to—I just hope he understands. I mean, he’s a lawyer and he might get a bit legal about it but I just wish he can let it pass with my charms.”

“Drop the charms. That will mess you up.” Jaebum suggested, earning him a slap from Jisoo.

Now that she got one thing off her chest, Jisoo went to the pantry to get some coffee. When she came back to her desk, Jaebum is staring at the glass window, thinking deeply.

“Are you still asleep?” Jisoo asked, blocking his view.

“Huh? No.” Jaebum shakes his head and turns to his computer.

Jisoo shrugs then takes a seat after switching her computer on.

“Did Jennie tell you?” Jaebum mumbles.

Jisoo’s mood dropped. “She told you about it.”

Jisoo found out about it a few days ago. She got sad hearing the news but once she remembered about them, her heart broke. It’s happening all over again for them.

“She mentioned it but I didn’t want to be the one to break it down to you.” Jisoo explained.

Jaebum nods.

“What are your plans now? Did you two talk about it?”

“We did. But the talk didn’t get as far as planning things out.”

“What are your plans?” Jisoo repeated.

Jaebum smirks. Of course, Jisoo won’t stop with his lame answers.

“I don’t know.” Jaebum admitted with a sigh. “We both know this is coming, we just never talked about it until now that it’s actually happening.”

Jisoo frowns.

“Stop frowning like that. You look sadder than us.” Jaebum said. “Three weeks is a long time. We just have to make that count.”

Jisoo forces a smile.

“Wait, weren’t you asking something about Jinyoung when you got in?” Jaebum says, changing the subject.

“Huh? Oh yeah I did!” Jisoo exclaimed. “I saw him getting in the building. What is he doing here this early?”

Jaebum looks at his watch. “He’s actually late. People at News get in at eight.”

“News?” Jisoo echoed.

“Post It News.” Jaebum replied. “He didn’t tell you? He’s now a junior editor down there.”

 

 

Jinyoung just excused himself from today’s afternoon meeting after convincing his supervisor to let him go early. He insists that he is, technically, out for work since he’s filming for Jinji but his new boss isn’t buying it. It doesn’t help too that people from the News department isn’t quite fond of the people in the Creatives. Jinyoung wanted to ditch work without a word but he’s barely a week-old in work and he didn’t want to make a mess on his probation month. So now, Jinyoung is running to the basement parking where the rest of the crew are waiting for him. They’re literally ready to go and just waiting for him.

“Sorry.” Jinyoung said, panting when he reached their mini van. His hand resting on the vehicle as he peeks on the window of the passenger’s seat where Jaebum is sitting.

“Get in.” Jaebum told him and on cue, Mark opens the van’s door from inside.

Jinyoung was greeted by Lisa and Mark but Jisoo has her eyes closed. Jinyoung doubts she’s really asleep though. He takes a deep breath and gets inside.

They are filming Jinji’s third episode, Jinyoung and Jisoo will volunteer on an orphanage. It is a partnership with the foundation that facilitates the orphanage. They are donating a decent amount of money in the name of Post It. This episode is a personal idea from Jisoo. It’s something the she really loves doing, partnering with different institutions is a staple in all her shows. Particularly for Jinji, it hasn’t just been a personal devotion but the nights she spent doing the proposal for this one are one of the distraction-overtimes she had in the past month. The higher ups didn’t hesitate in approving the idea. Aside from the good deed, it is more of a win-win situation for Post It and the foundation. The foundation can use Jinji in getting more awareness and, hopefully, donations from the public while it’s a good publicity for Post It.

The orphanage is located at the outskirts of the city so it didn’t take long for the crew to get there. The setup was simple. Since Lisa has already discussed how the shoot will go, the regular volunteers at the orphanage has the venue already setup. All that is left for the Post It crew to do is to set up the lights and the cameras.

The children of the orphanage are just finishing up with their afternoon classes so Lisa and Jaebum dropped by the orphanage office to greet some of the foundation’s head personnel since they heard from the volunteers that one of the biggest benefactor is in for a visit too. Jisoo insisted on tagging along because she can’t wait for Mark and Jinyoung because that will be torture.

“Did you meet any of the benefactors?” Lisa asked Jisoo, their arms linking, as they walk behind Jaebum and one of the volunteers.

Jisoo shakes her head in response. “Just the volunteers. The benefactors insisted on staying in private.”

Lisa nods. “Of course. Real rich and kind people are like that. They don’t need to show off their good deed.”

They arrived at the office and the volunteer gently knocked at the door.

“Hi Sir,” the volunteer mumbles. “The Post It crew who’ll film today are here. They just wanted to drop by and thank you for allowing them to film.”

“Come in.” A cool and definitely young voice from behind the door answered.

“He sounds young.” Jaebum told the volunteer.

The volunteer smiled. “He _is_ young.”

The volunteer then opened the door and Jaebum is greeted by a man, who is looking really young for a benefactor, he’s probably Jaebum’s age—if not younger. He is leaning on his desk, his long legs crossed as he is reviewing some papers. He does look young but he looks way too professional that Jaebum is a little bit intimidated.

“Hey, good afternoon.” The man greeted, standing straight and reaching for Jaebum’s hand for a handshake.

Jaebum shakes off the intimidation he’s feeling and steps in closer to take the handshake.

“Good afternoon,” Jaebum greeted politely as they finish the handshake. “I’m Im Jaebum, producer from Post It.”

It was only then that Lisa and Jisoo follow them inside.

“This is my team—my line producer Lisa,” Jaebum introduced.

“Hi, Lisa,” The guy greeted, charmingly as he reaches for Lisa’s hand.

“Hi,” Lisa greets as she takes his hand, her voice almost cracking into a squeal because he is unexpectedly charming _and_ good looking.

“And this is Jisoo,” Jaebum continues, ignoring Lisa’s doll eyes at the guy. “She’s half of the Jinji couple.”

The guy’s smile turned wider, it looks somewhere between a teasing smile and a smirk, and instead of reaching for a handshake, he gave her a friendly nod.

“Hi, Jisoo.” He mumbles, a little bit too friendlier that sent Jaebum off guard, thinking that the guy is hitting on Jisoo. Jisoo looks so uncomfortable—she’s horrified.

Jaebum takes a step back, closer to the girls and shot the guy a look, failing to hide his discomfort.

“Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself,” the guy mumbles, “I’m Kang Woohyun.”

The name sounded too familiar to Jaebum. It was only when he turned to Jisoo again and saw the horror in her eyes that he remembers why the name sounded so damn familiar.

Jaebum sighed, a little bit to heavily that the people in the room (except Jis00) gave him a puzzled look. His tensed shoulders dropped, unsure of how and what to feel about the situation. A part of him is relieved that this guy isn’t some pervert as he first thought but the relief was immediately replaced with panic because it’s now the dead end for them.

Woohyun smiled. “Aren’t you filming in a while? Would you mind me being around?”

No one answered. Lisa waited for Jaebum’s approval but he’s didn’t say a thing and Jisoo is too stunned to even move.

“I mean, I’m huge fan of you guys, especially the show.” Woohyun added. “So, I hope you don’t mind.”

The volunteer shots Lisa a look and she panics.

“Of course!” Lisa replied. “Of course you can! We’d love to have you in the set.”

She looked at Jaebum and nudged him with her elbow.

“Yeah, if that’s what you want.” Jaebum said and Jisoo gave him a sharp look.

Lisa is so confused about how everything is going on by now but she’s sure something is off so she decided to lead the group.

“Come on, we should get started in a while.” She said then nods at the volunteer. The volunteer guided Woohyun out and Lisa follows behind after shooting Jaebum and Jisoo a fix-you-shit look.

“What the hell? What is he doing here?” Jaebum asked.

“I don’t know!” Jisoo panics. “But it looks like this is his pro bono work. Shit is it over for us?”

“Maybe you should try talking to him like you promised.” Jaebum said. “I don’t want to ruin this shoot, _especially_ , this show.”

Jaebum made sure to point that out before turning around and following others.

Jisoo sighed. How unlucky can she be?

The children have yet to be done with their classes when they came back to the set. The other volunteer told them they’ll be out in a couple of minutes though, giving them enough time to introduce Woohyun to the rest of the Post It crew.

Jinyoung walks to Jisoo, obviously aware of the crisis they’re facing right now and it’s already annoying her so much.

“Hey, Jisoo,” Jinyoung mumbles when he reached her.

“I got it, okay? I’ll do anything to save our asses from getting exposed.” Jisoo said, turning her back on him.

Jinyoung just wanted to check on her. He feels so bad after getting angry at her the other day and he wanted to apologize and help her fix this thing but now he’s completely shut down.

Jisoo takes a deep breath and walks to where Woohyun is standing. She has her hands curved in tight fists on her sides. Embarrassment and annoyance are keeping her from moving. How can she do this? Sure she said she’s going to talk to him but she didn’t know they’ll bump into each other this soon. She hasn’t planned how to do this yet! She didn’t even expect that odds of bumping into him randomly could be so much in favour of her. Or is it really in her favour? She’s literally a few seconds of getting exposed in the public as a cheating girlfriend, how can she do this?

“Hey,” Woohyun beat her to talking first, making her jolt in surprise when he suddenly turned around.

He chuckled at her surprise, annoying her more.

“What’s up?” he asked.

_Whoa, I can’t believe this guy_. Jisoo thought to herself. Is he really going to act like nothing happened?

Jisoo takes a deep breath, gathering all the strength and luck she can get. “About the other night, I just really want to say sorry. It’s not what you think it is—“

“What are you talking about?”

“W-what?”

Woohyun laughs again. It was honestly cute, his eyes look like they’re shining when he chuckles but for now, it’s building up Jisoo’s annoyance.

Jisoo couldn’t help but give him an offended look.

“Sorry,” Woohyun quickly apologized. “You’re just cute when you—“

Jisoo’s look turned more tensed.

Woohyun drops his smile. “Okay, sorry that was rude. And about the other night… it’s okay. Relationships can be a little rocky sometimes.” He glanced behind Jisoo, onto Jinyoung’s direction. “You can get a little confusing sometimes and it’s totally fine. You’re lucky it was me. If it’s some other dude, it would’ve been too messy.”

Jisoo was mummed. She doesn’t know what she’s supposed to say. Woohyun’s words are so _comforting_. It’s pure assumption and there’s no way she went into some confused moments but his words felt so good in her ears. Like it’s comforting her.

Woohyun suddenly reaches for her shoulder and squeezed it softly. “I hope you two get through this.”

Jisoo’s mouth dropped open for a while before she shakes her head, tossing the thoughts away.

“No, no, it’s not like that. You don’t understand.” Jisoo started. “The dating app… I did that for research—for work! Jinyoung and I—we’re not on the rocks. We’re _good_.” Jisoo can’t even explain how much of lie that last bit was but it somehow convinces Woohyun.

He gently takes his hand back.

“I just happen to see you there, we even matched,” Jisoo’s voice softens in shyness. “And I got so thrilled meeting an old friend so I hit you up without thinking—though I really intended to explain but you just sort of shut me down.”

“Oh,” The change in Woohyun’s face is so evident—from the confident adviser to immediate apologetic look. “I’m so sorry. I—whoa, I think I got ahead of myself. I’m so sorry.”

Jisoo laughs. It feels good getting it off her chest. “It’s okay. It’s just a huge misunderstanding.”

“This is embarrassing.” Woohyun said, his voice so soft and dreamy. “I should go apologize to your boyfriend. Does he know about it?”

Jisoo’s smile quickly faded. “No!—I mean he doesn’t know about it and I just… he’ll probably overreact and all so if you could, let’s not talk about it again?”

Woohyun nods. Jisoo is silently praying that he buys her shit again which he did. He smiled at Jisoo, a reassuring one and Jisoo feels bad about it.

Jinyoung felt that Jisoo has been talking to that Woohyun guy for too long so he walks to them and butts in the conversation.

“Hi,” Jinyoung mumbles, sliding an arm around Jisoo’s waist, making her freeze in her place.

The sudden touch is sending electricity all over Jisoo’s body. She turned to him, giving him a puzzled look but he only answered with a smile.

“Oh, hey,” Woohyun mumbles. “I don’t think I’ve introduced myself properly. I’m Kang Woohyun, I’m from Jisoo’s middle school.”

Jinyoung didn’t know that.

“We’re seatmates for a whole year.” Woohyun added sending tension to Jinyoung.

Jinyoung turned to Jisoo. How did she end up matching with her childhood sweetheart?

“Small world, right?” Jisoo says awkwardly, sensing the rising tension. “Who would’ve thought we’ll bump into each other here?”

Jisoo has no idea how to deal with this much testosterone tension. Jinyoung looks so annoyed and Jisoo feels bad that Woohyun has to see this. He’s not even her real boyfriend! Why is he acting like this?

“Jinyoung! Jisoo! Rolling in three!”

Saved by the bell. By now, Jisoo is convinced that Jaebum is her guardian angel in the past life.

“Oh, sorry, we have to start filming.” Jisoo mumbles, taking Jinyoung’s arm and turning him around. “Nice catching up with you, Woohyun! Talk to you soon.”

Jisoo successfully turned Jinyoung around.

“ _Talk to you soon_?” Jinyoung whispered as they walk back to the set. “You really plan on talking to him again?”

Jisoo rolled her eyes. “I already settled what happened the other night, okay? We’re good now.”

Jinyoung scoffed. “You didn’t even tell me he’s some sort of a childhood sweetheart.”

Jisoo detached her arm from Jinyoung. “It’s none of your business, I told you.”

Jinyoung stopped walking in shock while Jisoo dashes ahead.

“Jisoo,” Jinyoung calls, stopping her by the arm. “What’s wrong?”

“What?” Jisoo turned. “Nothing’s wrong, Jinyoung. You just have to stop to restraining me from doing things as if we’re on some real relationship here.”

Jinyoung slowly releases Jisoo’s hand. He felt his chest tight with a million people stomping on it. No, it’s worse; it’s like a battalion of soldiers and their horses are stomping on his heart. It’s an entirely new feeling—to get his heart broken by someone in it.

 

 

Filming wrapped up successfully. The kids loved the games and dinner prepared for them. There is a short program at the end when Jinyoung and Jisoo give the cash donation to the volunteers. By the end of filming, they had a hard time saying goodbye to the children. The only thing that convinced them to let go of their new older brothers and sisters is their curfew. Again, Jinyoung and Jisoo worked tremendously well acting. Though there were some off parts that are obviously awkward but Jisoo thought that since there’s a crowd, they can deal with it in the editing, she’ll just have to sit with Jaebum when he edits it.

“What the hell happened again?” Jaebum asked Jisoo, of course he would notice that something was off with the two again.

Jisoo sighed. “I don’t want to talk about it, please.”

Jeabum shakes his head. “You guys have to figure your shit out. It’s getting obvious on camera.”

Jisoo didn’t say anything, too tired to argue. “Where is he?”

“And now you’re looking for him?” Jaebum said. “He ran back to work, he has some stuff to finish.”

Jisoo nods.

“Lisa and Mark want to go out for drinks, you wanna go?” Jaebum offered.

“Nah, I’ll go straight home.” Jisoo said. “You guys go ahead, I can take the bus.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

They finished packing up and in about an hour, they are on the car and on their way to drop Jisoo off on the bus stop.

“Text us when you get home!” Mark screamed before shutting the vehicles door and they drove away.

Jisoo takes a seat on the bus stop, waiting for her bus, which the bus chart behind her tells that won’t come in the next thirty minutes. It’s going to be a long wait.

It’s barely a couple of minutes of waiting for her when she noticed a couple of lights from a car coming her direction. She thought she miscalculated the time about the bus arrival but when she looked up, an SUV is pulling over in front of her instead.

She was going to ignore it but it stopped exactly in front of her and when the windows, rolled down, Woohyun is peeking from the driver’s seat.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Woohyun asked, barely audible. “Aren’t you going home yet?”

Jisoo stands and walks to the car, leaning on the passenger’s seat window.

“I am. I’m just waiting for the bus.” Jisoo replied.

“Alone? Where’s your boyfriend?”

“He has to do some work stuff. It’s urgent.”

Woohyun nods, giving Jisoo the impression that he’s not believing her. “Oh. You want me to give you a ride?”

It was tempting but Jisoo politely declined. “No, it’s fine. I can take the bus. It’s not that far anyway.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry. Thanks so much for offering.”

“Okay, bye.”

“Bye.”

They exchanged smiles and Woohyun drives away. Jisoo walks back to her seat. She took her earphones from her bag, plugged it in her phone then to her ears to listen to her go-to party playlist to fool herself that she’s okay.

Jisoo leaned back on the chair and closed her eyes, calming her thoughts and hearts. She felt someone sit on the empty seat beside her but she ignores it, she wanted to have this time for herself.

She feels bad saying those words to Jinyoung. It’s unfair and it’s draining her energy but she just couldn’t help herself. She just had enough of Jinyoung’s mixed signal. That is basically her defense mechanism saving her from yet another foolish thing of believing that Jinyoung cares for her more than he actually do. She’s done making a fool of herself and getting another heartbreak. But why is it hurting her so much too?

She was deep in her thoughts when she was distracted by someone else’s phone ringing. When she opens her eyes, she turned and found Woohyun sitting beside her, a ringing phone in hand.

“What are you doing here?” Jisoo asked in surprise and fear, moving and ready to sprint away.

“I-uh—hold on.” Woohyun answered the call first before explaining. “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming home. I just dropped by somewhere. Yes. Love you, Mom. See you.”

Woohyun puts his phone back inside his pocket and turns back to Jisoo. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Did you not also mean to stalk me?” Jisoo asked, removing one of her earphones.

Woohyun felt accused. “I wasn’t stalking you! It’s just… I saw you waiting here alone and this isn’t the nicest neighbourhood. I just wanted to make sure you get on the bus safe.”

Jisoo is not yet convinced. “But you already drove off.”

“Yeah, I did but my conscience won’t let me live.” Woohyun admitted. “Don’t worry. I won’t do anything. Just forget that I’m here. You can listen to your music. Don’t mind me.”

Jisoo didn’t say anything and put her earphone back to her ear, doing as told. She saw Woohyun smiled, a little bit too cutely for Jisoo, on her peripheral view—which again, she tried to ignore.

But not for long. She eventually takes off her earphones, both of them, and then turns to Woohyun.

“W-what?” Woohyun stutters, his smile dropped when Jisoo turned.

“It’s weird having you here and ignore you.” Jisoo admitted.

“Well, you can just thank me and we’ll be good.” He said.

“Excuse me? Thank you for what?” she asked.

Woohyun turned pale, caught off guard. “For staying here with you? I just told you it’s dangerous here.”

“I didn’t ask you to do that. I can take care of myself.” Jisoo wanted to take that back as soon as she said them. His good intentions don’t deserve her sassiness.

Woohyun suddenly chuckles. “You never changed.”

Jisoo blushed, looking away. “Sorry. That is really rude.”

Woohyun shakes his head with a smile. “No, it’s fine. Of course you can take care of yourself. Maybe I’m just feeding my man-ego by being here.”

“No! That’s not what I mean.” Jisoo pouted.

Woohyun chuckles. “I’m just kidding.”

Jisoo sighs and turned to him with a fake glare.

Woohyun’s smiled weakly. “Tough day today?”

“Just tired, I guess.”

Woohyun nods.

“Did you and your boyfriend fight earlier?” he suddenly asks, catching Jisoo off guard and he was quick to explain. “I mean, I saw you two talk before filming and I just—is it because you talked to me?”

“No.” Jisoo shakes her head. “Jinyoung isn’t like that. We just talked about something.”

Woohyun pursed his lips. “Sorry for bringing that up.”

Silence came after. Jisoo didn’t feel like talking about it more and Woohyun is thinking of something to talk about.

“This is really weird.” He says.

“Which one?” Jisoo asked.

“Us meeting this way.” He replied. “I mean, first off, I didn’t imagine meeting you on a dating app, especially when you’re in a relationship—which, by the way, I’m really sorry for. I was kinda rude with the chat.”

Jisoo smiles, for the first time. “It’s okay. I understand.”

“Your smile still looks the same.” Woohyun suddenly says.

Jisoo blushed. “Are you saying I still look like a little girl?”

“No, I mean, you still have that same kind of smile—the one that’s infectious.”

Jisoo turned to Woohyun. He was smiling widely, innocently. It brings Jisoo back to those afternoons in class when she would just look at him studying and it’s enough to make her heart flutter.

“It’s been a long time. Do you remember the last time we saw each other?” Jisoo asked.

“About eight, nine years ago? In Jung Sohee’s birthday. She invited everyone in her backyard party.” Woohyun answered with much thought.

Jisoo was quite taken aback with Woohyun’s memory. “Whoa. You actually remember.”

Woohyun bit his lip and scratches his head. “I’m good at remembering moments that are beautiful. And you were really beautiful that day.”

Jisoo’s mind went chaotic. _D-did he just say I am beautiful?—was, okay he said was but it means the same thing. Woohyun remembers I am beautiful—from ten years ago. Should I be flattered? What should I say?_

“Y-yeah that was fun.” Jisoo awkwardly says. “I never saw you since. Where did you go?”

“I went to Japan for a couple of years. I went to study there and came back here after graduating college.” Woohyun replies.

“Oh, that’s why.” Jisoo nods.

“I went to your noodle place when I got back.” Woohyun said.

“You did?” Jisoo asked, delighted.

“Yeah, I missed you—your noodles! But when I got there it was already a coffee place.” There was a tiny hint of sadness in his voice. “You already closed down.”

“Yeah, we had to. Some things happen.” Jisoo explained. “I didn’t know you like our noodles.”

“It was the best noodles, ever!” Woohyun exclaimed. “I swear, I kept on asking my mom to do it, especially when we were in Japan, but she just couldn’t do it. I tried making it too but I suck at the kitchen.”

Jisoo giggles. It was nice talking about the past—the good times of her life. “Maybe I should cook you some noodles some time.”

“You know how to do it like how your dad does?” Woohyun dared.

Jisoo scoffed playfully. “Of course! I can cook it even better!”

They talk for the next couple of minutes. It looks like the bus is coming late, too late, from its schedule but neither of them cared. Not even Jisoo. She’s having so much fun talking to Woohyun, looking back at the simpler times when nothing is complicated and the only heartbreak they get is when their favorite anime ends.

The bus eventually came though, just when they were talking about that one time their whole class went behind the back of their teacher and skipped homeroom to go to another school’s festival.

“Oh, that’s my ride.” Jisoo mumbles, getting her bags and standing up.

“Yeah.” Woohyun says. “You should go now, it’s getting really late.”

Jisoo nods. “Thanks for today.”

“No worries.” Woohyun assured with a warm smile.

Jisoo walks to the bus. With every step she takes, she gets this weird feeling in her guts. A part of her thinks it was a beautiful moment and she should leave it like that. She has too much stuff to deal with right now. But there is also this kicking feeling that tells her that getting in this bus and leaving Woohyun is going to be a big mistake.

She takes a seat beside the window. She smiled at Woohyun who’s standing just in front of her side, waiting for her bus to leave.

She looks around the bus; there are only a few people in, aside from her, there’s just an old lady in front and young high school couple behind who are both sound asleep. So, she must be drunk from the beauty of their conversation or her heart is seeking for some kind of attention—she can’t tell—but she ended up knocking on the window, getting Woohyun’s attention. He was quick to catch on. He stepped closer, tiptoeing to be in the same level with Jisoo.

Jisoo opens the window and with a deep breath, she says, “It’s not real. Jinyoung and I—we are not real.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I hear someone say second lead??? lol I was actually glad you guys caught the hints from last chapter! hehe anyway, what do you think about Woohyun?
> 
> Also, I can never bring myself into writing smut (yet???) so yeah sorry if it that scene had to end that way dkdldld SERIOUSLY WHY CAN'T ANYONE JUST BE HAPPY IN THIS FIC?????
> 
> Let me know how you feel about this chapter and drop some comments here or you know where you can reach me ^^
> 
> thank you! <3


	13. Choices

Woohyun’s days are always the same. He wakes up at six in the morning, jog around the neighbourhood for an hour then he goes back home to take a shower and have breakfast with his mom and sister—sometimes with his dad too if he’s in town. Then, he gets ready for work, waits for his sister to finish getting ready, drive her to the university then he goes to work. He works at his own law firm, the one he opened with his college friends. Since they work pro bono, they get loads of cases everyday. Woohyun goes to at least two hearings a day, five at most. Work, technically finishes at six then he drives to the gym, works out for an hour or two, then he goes home just in time for dinner. He watches some Netflix documentary to make himself sleepy then he goes to sleep. Even his weekends are the same. He spends his Saturdays at the orphanage and hangs out with his friends at night. Sundays are for brunch with the family and staying in all day catching up with his favorite TV series.

Everything is just a cycle for Woohyun. People say that he is wasting his youth and good looks. His friends keep on telling him that he should go out on dates while his mother pressures him to get married already. He goes on blind dates once in a while, he’s even on dating apps, but it was never his priority. He never really cared about it, at all.

Until that night when he received a message on the dating app. Until he realized that the message is from Kim Jisoo—that the girl from middle school that he didn’t even notice he kept track of through her Youtube videos so much to know that she is in a committed relationship and he cares enough to call her out.

Until this afternoon when he first saw her after almost a decade, looking nervous but cute.

Until he saw her waiting in the bus stop and he just knew he has to be there with her.

Until he talked to her again and it seemed like ten years didn’t pass.

Until he saw her smile again and he realized how he fell in love with that smile and the feelings never really left his heart.

He realized that he do care, after all. He cares about relationships and falling in love. It’s just that, all this time, he only cared about one person.

So when he heard a tiny bit hope from Jisoo’s lips, even though it’s something that he can’t quite understand, he got in that bus just before it leaves. Forgetting about his car that he parked in the orphanage. Forgetting that he doesn’t have a transportation card with him so he paid more than he should for the fare.

It is stupid, it really is but he thought that maybe a little bit of stupidity is what he needs in his life. Maybe a little bit stupidity is what will add color to his boring heart. He doesn’t care.

“What did you say?” Woohyun asked Jisoo. He is panting, not because he’s tired but because his heart is beating too fast in his chest.

“What are you doing?” Jisoo asked.

“What did you say?” Woohyun repeated.

“We are leaving!” the bus driver announced.

Jisoo looks around and pulled W0ohyun down to the empty seat beside her. “What are you doing?”

“What you said… is that true?” Woohyun asked. “You and your boyfriend—what do you mean that you’re not real?”

Now, Jisoo regrets saying that. In her defense, she didn’t know that Woohyun is going to hop inside the bus, she didn’t even expect he has some super good sense of hearing. She just felt that she needed it off her chest but now, it looks like she added more burden on her shoulders.

Woohyun stared at her waiting for her answer.

Jisoo sighs. “Promise me you’re going to listen just as Kang Woohyun, not Kang Woohyun the lawyer.”

Woohyun grins, his pearly white teeth are almost blinding Jisoo. 

“Come on, promise me!” Jisoo demanded, sticking out her pinky finger.

Woohyun shakes his head then completes the pinky promise. “I promise.”

Jisoo takes a deep breath. “Okay, here it goes. For starters, things you do in media aren’t always true. You should know that, right? You’re not like those gullible audience, right?”

Woohyun shakes his head. “I’m not.”

“You know, there are production white lies,” Jisoo continues. “There are scripted stuff, framed angles, artificial lights, CG renditions, 3D editing—you know all of these we do to make our videos pleasing, to get more views. But for Post It, we try our best to cover stories that are real, you know, except the production shit, we try to make everything real.”

Woohyun nods with his eyebrows furrowing. “Yeah, I’m not following.”

Jisoo frowned and Woohyun just pursed his lips.

“How do I explain this?” Jisoo mumbles to herself. “Okay, Jinji isn’t real.”

Woohyun looks even more confused so Jisoo continues.

“Jinyoung and I aren’t a real thing. He isn’t my boyfriend. We’re just doing it for show.”

There it goes. The bomb. Jisoo just released the bomb. Whether Woohyun will throw it back at her and let it explode in her face, she doesn’t know and her anxiety is building up with every second that passes that he doesn’t say anything.

“That’s fraud.” Woohyun mumbles.

Fuck. There it is. The end of Jisoo’s career. Jaebum is really going to kill her now. She can’t escape it and she deserves it.

“You promised not to be legal about it.” Jisoo frowns.

“No, no, no!” Woohyun panics. “I’m sorry, my brain just can’t help it sometimes. But it’s not like I’m going to file a lawsuit against you or something.”

“You sure?”

Woohyun studied her. “Did you think I’d do that?”

Jisoo shrugged. “I don’t know. You’re a lawyer. There are laws you follow and other people don’t follow those rules… I just thought you’re strict in the field and make everyone pay for their crimes.”

“If I let everyone pay for their wrongdoings, no one will be left innocent in this society.” Woohyun said.

“Was that supposed to make me feel better?” Jisoo asked.

Woohyun chuckles. “I just mean that I’m not an upright lawyer. I didn’t study law to fight the evil—there’s too many of them.”

“Then why did you become one?”

Woohyun turned to Jisoo. He doesn’t know if it’s something he can answer. Not that he doesn’t have any answer, it just felt too personal.

But it’s Jisoo and talking to her feels like talking to an old friend, which, she technically is, so he explains, “A lot of innocent people needs legal help but doesn’t have the money for the service.”

“Whoa,” Jisoo claps. “You have a heart of gold.”

Woohyun makes a face. “It’s part of the job.”

Jisoo shrugs. “Whatever you say. Wait—so we’re good, right? You’re not gonna expose us in the public? Jaebum is going to kill me if that happens.”

Woohyun chuckles. “Jaebum? The producer?”

Jisoo nods.

“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything. I don’t care about it.” Woohyun said.

“Thank you!” Jisoo exclaims, taking Woohyun’s hand in hers. “Thank you so much. Whoa, it feels good letting that off my chest.”

Woohyun felt his heart racing in his chest again as Jisoo’s grip on his hand gets tighter.

“Oh, wait, I think I do care about it.”

“Huh?” Jisoo slowly releases his hand.

“You and Jinyoung aren’t together.” Woohyun says. “Then that means you’re single, right?”

Jisoo nods, nervously. The question is sending pain in her chest. “Technically, yes.”

Woohyun smiles widely as he reaches for Jisoo’s hand back. “That’s good to know.”

 

 

“What? Kang Woohyun did that?” Jennie asked Jisoo after she told her what happened.

Jisoo called Jennie as soon as she got home to tell her about what happened, not leaving any part of the story unsaid.

“He really asked you out? Whoa, he’s so cool.” Jennie said. “So what did you say?”

Jisoo sighs. “Nothing. I don’t know what to say.”

“Yes or no—your answer lies just between that two. It shouldn’t be that hard.” Jennie replied.

“It’s not that easy.”

“You know it’s easy. I can even answer it for you.”

Jisoo was mummed. Jennie is right. She doesn’t even have to think much. She knows what she should answer.

“What’s stopping you from telling him the truth?” Jennie riddled. “I doubt that it’s because you don’t want to hurt his feelings.”

“Hey, you make me sound so bad.” Jisoo commented.

Jennie chuckles. “I’m just telling the truth. You’re not the type to beat around the bush and give false hope to others.”

Jisoo sighs. “It’s just tempting, you know? It’s hard to find someone who will listen to you and likes you unapologetically. Just you.”

Silence came after. Jisoo wonders if Jennie is still on the line but the truth is, Jennie just feels bad that her best friend has to feel this way.

“Hey, you still there?” Jisoo asked. “And are you sure Jaebum isn’t eavesdropping?”

“He’s not.” Jennie replied.

“I heard you told him about you leaving.”

“Yeah, it’s something we can’t run away from anymore.”

It was Jisoo’s turn to be mummed and feel bad for her best friend. It’s weird having phone conversations like this. How they wish they can just go back to the past when their phone conversations were just them ranting about their college professors or them fangirling over their favorite celebrities.

“Have you talked about what are you going to do?” Jisoo asked.

Jennie shakes her head as if Jisoo can see her. “It’s not like there’s something else we can do. We just have to make those three weeks count.”

 

***

 

“Guys! Guys! Guys!” Rosé calls, panting, as she runs to the diner downstairs to meet his friends.

It’s one of those rare moments that they are having lunch all at the same time. The Post It crew is complete, even Jinyoung the Post It newbie is there. So far, he and Jisoo are doing great ignoring each other without making others feel uncomfortable. That’s the beauty of a big, adult group—you don’t really have to talk to everyone to consider you’re all friends.

“Is someone running after you?” Youngjae asked.

Rosé takes the only empty seat left, the one between Jinyoung and Bambam, then immediately drinks the water in front of her, not caring whose glass it is.

She shakes her head in response. “I’ve got some news. Something huge.”

“Is that why you’re late? You were collecting gossip again?” Youngjae said to which Rosé replied with an eye roll.

“What is it?” Lisa asked curiously.

“Look at these women gossiping.” Bambam whines then he leans closer. “What is it?”

“Jisung filed a lawsuit against Post It.” Rosé said.

“What?”

“A lawsuit?”

“Versus Post It?”

“About time.”

Jisoo, Jaebum, Youngjae and Mark all say at the same time.

“Wait, whose Jisung is it?” Bambam said, totally confused. “Park? Yoon?”

“Huh?” Rosé looks puzzled. “I don’t—the one from Tech!”

Bambam nods. “Han.”

“What kind of lawsuit?” Jinyoung asked.

“Something about intellectual property rights.” Rosé answered. “Apparently some big film production company is trying to buy one of his short films. They’re going to develop it into a big sci-fi film. He has no idea about it but even the title is the same!”

“Then he should sue the production company for plagiarism.” Jisoo said.

“That’s what he was gonna do. He reported it to the board but it turns out that they have given full approval to the production company and didn’t tell Jisung about it. The film company bought full rights to the video without Jisung’s approval.” Rosé explained.

Everyone turned quiet, knowing very well that it’s a dead end for their colleague.

Lisa sighs. “But the chances of winning the lawsuit is impossible.”

“He’s gonna end up bankrupt with no job.” Bambam added.

“If he made the video, that means he owned it then he should ask a part of the money at least.” Jinyoung mumbles.

“That’s the point of the lawsuit but it’s impossible to win that.” Jaebum said.

“Why? He produced the material.” Jinyoung still finds it hard to understand.

The group exchange glances, not knowing who and how can they explain.

“Post It owns our videos.” Jisoo, surprisingly, was the one who speaks. “We just make them but it’s all theirs. Do you notice how our videos don’t have credits at the end? Not even on the description box. It’s because we are not credited for our works.”

“Worse is,” Jisoo added. “We get paid per video. If we don’t produce one, we’re not paid. So even though the whole system is fucked up, we have no choice but meet the demand for videos.”

Jisoo turned to Jinyoung, for the first time today and in a while, her stare sharp. “You didn’t know about that? I’m pretty sure that’s how things work down at News too.”

Tension builds up in the group, not because of the sudden dialogue between Jisoo and Jinyoung but because everything that Jisoo said is the ugly truth behind their jobs. Maybe it’s a little bit different for Rosé since she’s an analyst, but for the rest of them who are content creators, Post It is a crappy company. Their attitude against Dohwan is not just immaturity. It’s because Dohwan represents the board and he used to be one of them before but he kissed the chairman’s ass and left them all below him when he could’ve used his new connection to make their lives a little bit better. It’s not like their asking for some revolt that will turn the tables, they just want to be treated fairly.

“Jisoo?”

A cool voice calls, pulling everyone from their deep thoughts. The voice sounds so foreign except to Jisoo who just knows how familiar it is but confused as to why she’s hearing that voice calling her right now. Jisoo glances around, looking for the voice.

“Jisoo!” he called, louder and more sure this time.

Jisoo turned to where the voice is coming from and she found Woohyun walking towards them, posture firm and smile warm.

“W-Woohyun?” Jisoo asks, immediately standing up and using her whole body to block her friends’ view but it’s too late and her frame is too small compared to Woohyun’s. “What are you doing here?”

“I came here to visit you.” Woohyun answered with no hesitation.

“W-why? What—“

Jisoo was interrupted by Bambam and Youngjae coughing, too exaggerated that Bambam sounds like he needs an oxygen support.

“Yeah, uh guys,” Jisoo turned to the group. “This is Woohyun. He’s a friend from middle school. And these are—Jaebum, Lisa, Mark, Jinyoung—you met them at the shoot.”

“Mr. Kang!” Lisa greets in delight. “I didn’t know you’re Jisoo’s old friend.”

“She didn’t tell you?” Woohyun turned to Jisoo. “Well, we are. And oh, you can just call me Woohyun.”

“Okay, great.” Lisa replied, her voice an octave higher and her eyelashes batting, earning her a look from Bambam and Youngjae.

“And these are Bambam, Youngjae and Rosé —all working for Post It too.” Jisoo introduced.

“Whoa—“ Rosé mumbles, obviously stunned with Woohyun, and Mark was quick to cover her mouth just before she started squealing.

“Nice to meet you all.” Woohyun greeted politely.

Woohyun bows, Youngjae and Rosé bowed in reply while Bambam just nodded casually.

It was Jisoo’s turn to cough, very discreetly.

“We have some stuff to do upstairs, right, Rosé?” Lisa said, walking to Rose.

“But I haven’t had lunch yet.” Rosé argued.

“We ordered you a takeout, come on.” Youngjae said, following the two girls.

“Hey, you too, come on.” Lisa told Bambam, dragging him. “We’ll see you upstairs, Jisoo! Bye, Woohyun!”

“See you.” Mark told Jisoo before following the others.

Jaebum leaned in to Jisoo and whispers, “Thought you dealt with this already?”

“I did!” Jisoo replied. “But probably went a little bit overboard.”

Jaebum smirked. “Exciting.” Then he went to follow Mark.

Jisoo turned to Woohyun. “So, what are you doing here?”

“Visiting you.” Woohyun smiled. “Do you have time? Can you go out for coffee?”

“Huh? Uh, I thi—“

Before Jisoo can continue, Jinyoung grabs her arm.

“Break time’s over.” Jinyoung said sternly.

Jisoo, completely forgetting that he’s still there, turned to Jinyoung.

Woohyun glances at his watch. “We still have about fifteen minutes before lunch is over. We can grab coffee to-go.”

“The trip upstairs is already fifteen minutes.” Jinyoung argued, pulling Jisoo closer.

“What are you doing?” Jisoo gritted her teeth at Jinyoung, pulling her arm from Jinyoung.

“You have the weekly meeting at one-fifteen.” Jinyoung replied, his voice still stern.

“I don’t—oh, shit, yes.” Jisoo remembers. “How did you know about that?”

“How about I walk you back up to your office?” Woohyun offered, with a smile that is sending Jinyoung off to the edge of his patience.

“You don’t have to do that.” Jisoo said softly.

“I insist.” Woohyun said. “And it’ll be better than wasting the time I spent to get here.”

Jisoo nods. “Okay, yeah, you’re right.”

They walk out of the diner then straight to their building, Jinyoung trailing behind them like a kid on a tantrum.

The elevator ride is painfully awkward for Jisoo right now—standing between Jinyoung and Woohyun. Who in the world would expect that she’ll be stuck between dreamingly beautiful men that for sure is making her heart flutter? But the three of them together right now is just too complicated for Jisoo to handle. She doesn’t want to care about what Jinyoung thinks. For once, she wants to do something entirely just for her own. It should be liberating but she can’t help but worry about what Jinyoung thinks right now. Especially when it’s pretty obvious that he is not taking it well.

Same goes for Woohyun. She told him the truth—she and Jinyoung are not in a relationship. But that is only half of the truth. He doesn’t know about the bigger picture that Jisoo is in love with Jinyoung. If he knew, then he probably won’t be here. Jennie was right. If only Jisoo cleared that to Woohyun, things won’t get as complicated as it right now.

“This is your floor.” Jisoo whispered to Jinyoung when they reached the twenty-second floor.

Jinyoung remained still, not wanting to leave the elevator but he eventually sighs, defeated, then walks out of the elevator without even saying goodbye to Jisoo or Woohyun.

Jisoo lets out a sigh of relief as soon as the elevator doors closed.

“You said you aren’t a thing.” Woohyun mumbles.

Jisoo turned to Woohyun. “Y-yeah, we’re not.”

Woohyun shrugs. “He acts like you guys are.”

Jisoo pursed her lips. Woohyun’s comment sent pain in her heart. The elevator dinged, saving Jisoo pulling Jisoo from the dash of sadness.

“This is me.” Jisoo mumbles.

“Already?” Woohyun wondered.

Jisoo frowned. “Yeah.”

They stayed in the elevator as people get off, none of them knowing what to do. The doors were about to close when Jisoo stopped it with her arm, stepping outside of the elevator.

“Sorry, I have—“

“Wait!” Woohyun said, stepping out of the elevator to follow Jisoo. He checked his watch. “One-o-five. Ten more minutes before your meeting. Can I stay for a bit?”

Jisoo smiled. “Okay.”

Jisoo lead the way to side, just so people from Post It—a.k.a. her friends—won’t be able to spy on them from HQ’s glass walls.

“Wait, how did you even get here?” Jisoo asked. “I mean, how did you know where our office is?”

Woohyun bit his lips. “I looked into the proposal you sent to the orphanage and took the address.”

Jisoo eyed him. “Are you allowed to do that?”

Woohyun chuckles. “Benefactors can access official records.”

“I thought you’re some nice lawyer but here you are abusing your power.” Jisoo shakes her head.

Woohyun chuckles as he shrugs.

“Too bad we couldn’t even grab coffee.” Jisoo says. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. We can have dinner sometime instead.”

Jisoo raised an eyebrow at him. “I didn’t know you were this smooth.”

Woohyun laughs, embarrassed. “You don’t know how many times I practiced that in my car.”

Jisoo joined him in laughter.

“So?” Woohyun asked.

“Uh, yeah, uhm,” Jisoo trails off, thinking. Technically, she’s single and there shouldn’t be a problem with her going out on dates. But going out in public with someone else is a bit dangerous. She can’t risk some Jinji audience seeing her on a date with another guy.

“I don’t think that’s possible.” Jisoo finally continues.

It seems like all of the hope in Woohyun’s face were blown away. “Why?”

“It’s just… it’s quite complicated. It will put the show in jeopardy if someone sees me out in a date with someone else. It wouldn’t look so good.” Jisoo explained. Truth is, it’s not just Jinji that’s stopping her. Of course it’s not just that. There’s a whole Jinyoung etched in her chest that even though her heart is breaking, she can’t bring herself to the idea of dating someone else.

“Then we should stay in!” Woohyun suggested, excitedly. “You can cook me noodles like you said you will. If you’re not comfortable having me at your place, you can come over mine. I still live with my parents and sister but I promise me you, they won’t bother you.”

But Woohyun is here. Right in front of her, gently knocking at her heart. Will it be so bad to let him in?

Jisoo’s phone started ringing, saving her again from giving an answer.

“Sorry,” Jisoo mumbles, taking the phone from her pocket and answering quickly.

“Meeting is moved to two pm.” It’s Lisa. “Take your time with Woohyun.” She giggles then hangs up.

Jisoo slowly puts down her phone.

“Do you really have to go now?” Woohyun asked, his voice low.

“Yeah, I’m sorry.” Jisoo lied. “They’re calling me in.”

Woohyun frowned.

“Let’s talk about the noodles some time.” Jisoo said. “You can just call me. My number should be in the records too. Which, what you should’ve done in the first place, rather than going all the way here just to ask me for coffee.”

Woohyun smiled in guilt, again, biting his lip making him look somewhere in between cute and hot.

“Then I wouldn’t have a reason to see you today.” He says taking his phone from his pocket and handing it to Jisoo.

Jisoo couldn’t help but smile. She takes Woohyun’s phone, saves her number in it and hands it back to him.

It shouldn’t be so bad let her heart be thrilled, right?

 

***

 

“Empty house tour isn’t just a trend to couples right now. I think it’s a great activity for couples to, you know, get to know each other better.”

“Yeah, and it works well even for new couples. You don’t have to move in, you just have to try it and you’ll surely know some new things for your partner! For example, I didn’t know that you prefer wallpapers than painted walls.”

“And noted on your dream garden!”

They are perfectly in character with their adlibs that even Jisoo can’t tell if Jinyoung is being sincere or what. But she let herself loose and giggles, it’ll look good in the camera, she thought.

They are filming for Jinji’s third episode—the empty house tour. By now, Jaebum is so close to giving his friends the Oscar they deserve for acting so well in the camera, it was as if they weren’t on each other’s throat off cam. Even though they deal with it quietly and professionally, Jaebum can’t help but to get annoyed by how they are acting when they can just be the mature adults that they are and talk it out.

“And with that, we will see you next week!”

“Bye-ie!”

Jinyoung and Jisoo say respectively, concluding the episode. Linking arms, they then closed the door of the empty bedroom that they are at—just as Jaebum directed them to do.

They remained in the position before realizing they should’ve let go of each other now. They detached from each other a bit too aggressively—mostly on Jisoo’s part, to which Jinyoung simply ignored.

“Okay, good take!” Jaebum announced from behind the door. “Check playback!”

Jinyoung immediately went to open the door upon hearing Jaebum’s instruction but the door won’t open.

He turned the knob once then twice then one more time but it seems to be locked from outside.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Jisoo asked, stepping closer.

Jinyoung knocks on the door. “Hey, I think the door was locked from there.”

“Huh? Hold on.” Jaebum mumbles as he steps closer and tries opening the door.

Jaebum tries to open the door, twisting the knob strategically at first then with much force eventually—but it still won’t open.

“What happened?” Lisa asks as she walks back to the shoot after walking the real estate agent out. The agent had to leave for some prior engagements and just told them to clean everything up and lock the main door when they leave.

“Wait—did you close the door?” Lisa asks, in panic, realizing what is going on. “The agent told us the knob is broken so we shouldn’t close it.”

“What?” Jisoo panics from inside the room. “Jaebum told us to close it!”

“I didn’t—ugh!” Jaebum tries to unlock the door again, this time with more pressure but it only ended with frustration when he still failed to open it.

Mark puts his camera down and walks to Jaebum to take over the door. “You’ll just end up destroying it even more.” He turned to Lisa. “Lisa, call the agent and ask her if we can ask someone for help.”

Lisa does as told, immediately taking her phone and calling the agent.

“I have some tools in my car.” Jinyoung says from behind the door. “My keys are in my bag.”

Jaebum immediately went to get Jinyoung’s keys from his bag and went out to his car.

“The agent gave the maintenance man’s contact info but she doubts if they can still come over since it’s a little bit late and they’re coming from another city.” Lisa reports after the phone call with the agent. “But I’ll still try calling them.”

Just in time, Jaebum arrives with the tools from Jinyoung’s car. He and Mark try their best fixing and opening the door.

“How much longer will it take, guys?” Jisoo says, her voice cracking into much anxiety, then she groans. “Why does this have to happen?

“You don’t have to hate it that much.” Jinyoung mumbles.

Jisoo rolls her eyes. “I’m not trying to pick up fight, Jinyoung. I just want to get out of here.”

Jinyoung scoffed. “Why? Because you have a date? A real date with that lawyer?”

Jisoo’s eyes widen in disbelief. “What the hell, Jinyoung? We’re literally stuck, not knowing how to get out and you’re nagging about that?”

“You know you can’t do that.” Jinyoung says. “You can’t go out with him.”

“I told you to stop doing this, Jinyoung. I think you’re forgetting what we really are.” Jisoo’s own words hurt her heart.

“No, Jisoo.” Jinyoung says with a tired, sad sigh. “I think you’re the one forgetting about that kiss from that night.”

It was like a vase shattering on a quiet night. Some fragile thing that Jisoo was trying to keep safe is now shattered into pieces making a loud roaring sound in her ears. 

“W-what?” Jisoo stutters. She feels like she’s getting out of breath. “But we both agreed it meant nothing!”

“You are the only one who said it was nothing!” Jinyoung corrected. “I never agreed with you because I know how that kiss felt and I know it’s more than just a kiss—for the both of us.”

No. This is unfair. Jisoo thought to herself. She wasn’t supposed to hear this, not now.

“But the next morning, you are already disclaiming it, telling me it was nothing.” Jinyoung continued.

“But you said it was a mistake!” Jisoo chokes up—out of frustration and pain. “What do you expect me to do? Insist that there was something in it when you clearly said there wasn’t?”

Jinyoung was taken a back; all the frustration in him was gone. “No. That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what?” Jisoo demanded. She’s now in tears. “What do you mean? For once, can you please make up your mind? You can’t just go do things and say contradicting words. Because that is so misleading!”

Jinyoung was mummed.

“You can’t just say you’re going to make me happy and kiss me then all of a sudden tell me it’s a mistake.” Jisoo says amidst tears. “Because that was when you broke my heart.”

The silence was deafening. Nothing is heard except Jisoo’s fast breathing but if you listen more carefully, you’ll hear both of their hearts crying.

Then the doorknob clicks. The door slowly opens. Jaebum opens the door completely and Jisoo walks out of the room, eyes flowing with tears.

 

 

Jisoo parked in front of the building and dragged her feet back to the HQ. No matter how heavy and defeated she feels right now, she still needs to get back to finish some stuff and get her things. A heartbreak is never a reason to skip work for her.

She just got off the elevator, greeting her co-workers who are on the way home, when her phone started ringing. She lazily took her phone and answered it without checking who the caller is.

“Hello,” she mumbles, her voice still hoarse from crying.

“Jisoo?” It’s Woohyun. “Are you okay? Are you crying?”

“Woohyun?” Jisoo cleared her throat. “No, I just have a cold.”

“Did you take any medicine yet?” Woohyun asked.

Jisoo shakes her head as she reaches her desk. “I’ll be fine with water.”

“Are you sure?” Woohyun asked.

“Yeah.” Jisoo mumbles.

“You sound tired. Are you still at work?”

Jisoo shouldn’t let the words get to her, she has been too fragile for a while now, but Woohyun’s voice is too soft in her ear—too comforting that even her broken heart skipped a beat.

“Yeah, I am.” She replied. “Just finishing some stuff.”

“Okay, I’ll just call some other time.” He said. “Have some rest.”

Jisoo breaks into a smile. “Sure. Thanks.”

They hang up and Jisoo went to do her work. It wasn’t much, to be honest. It could even be done tomorrow but she felt like doing it right now, she needs something to get her mind off of things and work has always been a good route for that. She’s lucky none of the Jinji crew came back at the HQ tonight, or Lisa probably figured she’s going to be here and instructed everyone to get home. She put her phone in airplane mode, not minding about anything else.

What should be a quick run at the HQ became a three-hour overtime resulting to a completely new (and unnecessary) proposal for a video that she’ll shove into Mark’s throat tomorrow for co-producing because she has already reached her quota for the month. By the time she’s wanting to go home, it’s almost ten in the evening. She didn’t even have some dinner but she wasn’t hungry either.

She fixed her things and gets ready to sleep. As usual, she is the last to leave so she has to turn everything off and lock the HQ.

She absentmindedly gets in the elevator, yawning, putting her earphones on. The trip down is weirdly short but long—short because no one gets in from other floors but awfully long since she’s alone. She got out of the elevator and walks straight to her car, almost robotically, she still not caring about anything else.

“Jisoo!”

She heard someone call just before she opens her car door. She turned around and found Woohyun jogging to her direction.

“Hey,” he greets, panting.

“What are you doing here?” Jisoo asked.

“That question is starting to be your hi now.” Woohyun chuckles in between catching his breath.

“Sorry. Hi.” Jisoo says. “What are you doing here?”

Woohyun smiles. “You said you’re going to be quick. I didn’t know three hours is quick for you.”

“You were waiting for three hours?” Jisoo asked, eyed wide.

“Well, I got some time.”

Jisoo is in disbelief. “What are you even doing here?”

“You sounded so tired and sick in the phone call and I just got worried.”

“And you came here just because of that?”

“And to give you this.” He hands him a paper packet, which looks like a pack of cold medicines.

“Oh my gosh, Woohyun. You didn’t have to.” Jisoo says, taking the packet.

“Well, I wanted to check too if you’re really okay and…” Woohyun hesitates before continuing. “Is everything okay?”

Jisoo was going to say fine again but even her body won’t allow it, she sighs instead.

“I just…” she trails off, still thinking if she should continue. “I got into an argument with one of my co-workers. It was very heated and it didn’t end well.”

That actually felt good getting out of her chest. It wasn’t a lie and it was, technically, the truth. The simple truth.

“That sucks.” Woohyun says and Jisoo just shrugged. “You know what can make you feel better?”

 

 

“The gym?” Jisoo asked in surprise after realizing where Woohyun’s direction has taken them.

Woohyun just smiled at her as he takes his seatbelt off. He gets off the passenger’s seat and get to the open Jisoo’s door.

“Boxing.” Woohyun said as Jisoo gets off. “That’s a sure stress reliever.”

“But I don’t know how!” Jisoo takes a step back, as if going back to her car, but Woohyun quickly grabs her arm. “I’m not even athletic!”

“It’s okay. Trust me, all you have to do is throw a few punches.” Woohyun assures. “I got you.”

Jisoo sighs, surrendering. They walk inside the gym which, surprisingly, still has a couple of people in even though it’s pretty late. The instructors and some of the clients inside greeted Woohyun as they enter.

“Are you a regular here? They all seem to know you.” Jisoo whispers.

Woohyun shrugs. “Sort of.”

They walk to the front desk and the lady instructor greeted them. With not much dialogue, the lady hands Woohyun a set of keys.

“Here you go, boss.” She said, making Jisoo’s eye widen.

“Boss?” Jisoo echoed before she turns to Woohyun.

Woohyun takes the keys and scratches the back of his head.

“Do you own this place?” Jisoo asked.

“No. Not really.” He replies with no hesitation. “My friend owns this and I’m just an investor.”

“You’re not even thirty! How are you nonchalantly investing on stuff?” Jisoo mumbles.

Woohyun shot the lady instructor a guilty look.

“Your girlfriend is cute, Sir.” She said.

“No!” Jisoo denied in a heartbeat, quickly getting guilty for the sudden denial. “I mean, we are—we’re just friends.”

The lady nods but she has this smile that doesn’t believe Jisoo.

“What she says.” Woohyun shrugged. “Thank you for this, Hyesun.”

He turns to Jisoo. “Ready?”

“Yeah—I don’t think I’m properly dressed for this.” Jisoo said. Even though she changed into her sneakers, she’s still wearing the dress she used for filming earlier.

“Oh, hold on.” Woohyun says and he disappeared for a moment, leaving Jisoo standing awkwardly dressed in a sundress in the middle of gym.

A couple of minutes later, Woohyun walks back already changed into his gym outfit—sweatshirt and sweatpants—with another hoodie in hand.

“Here.” He says handing the hoodie to Jisoo. “That’s all I have that you can use. Don’t worry, that’s clean.”

Jisoo hesitates but ends up taking it anyway. She puts it on, inhaling the smell of fresh fabric, but her mind drifts off, remembering a different scent from a different person. The memory was slowly creating a hole in her heart when Woohyun suddenly pulls her to the boxing area, pushing her chaotic thoughts away too.

“I swear I suck at sports.” Jisoo mumbles at the sight of the punching bag in front of her.

“Have you ever tried boxing before?” Woohyun asked, stepping closer. “May I?” He offers to help Jisoo put the boxing gloves on.

Jisoo nods, hesitantly at first but she gives her hand to Woohyun anyway. He puts on the glove in her left hand.

“So, is this going to be your first time?”

“Uh, no. I did it once. For a video.” Jisoo replied, embarrassed.

“That’s good start!” Woohyun finishes with her left hand then proceeds putting the other glove on her right hand.

Jisoo shakes her head. “I was so bad at it, I edited myself out of the episode.”

Woohyun chuckled. “It’s going to be easy.”

He walks behind the punching bag, held it firm with his hands and peeks at the side.

“You’re here just to take your stress anyway. Just think about all your stress and frustration.” Woohyun instructed. “Remember your co-worker and think about your argument then let out your stress through your punches. Come on, don’t hesitate.”

Jisoo takes a deep breath then, slowly, does as she’s told. Her first few punches were rather lame, the punching bag barely moves with her hits.

“You don’t look stressed. Is that all?” Woohyun provoked. “Think about the words he said, the things he did—everything that offended you, that hurt you.”

Jisoo slowly tightened her fists as Woohyun’s words get to her. Her mind is suddenly filled with the words and actions—every thing that Jinyoung said and did that didn’t make sense and frustrated her.

“Think about the times you got hurt but didn’t say anything. Think about the angst that has filled your chest and is yet to release.”

She thinks about all the time she has forgotten about her own happiness just to make him feel better. She thinks about all the time that she got hurt just to heal him.

“Now’s your chance. Hit it!”

Like a stimulus sending signal in Jisoo’s brain, after hearing that, Jisoo’s punches gradually got heavier, stronger. The sound she’s creating turns louder, echoing in the quiet room. She just went on punching and punching, letting all the heaviness flow off her chest with every hit; letting go with all of her frustrations with every move.

Eventually, the strength in her punches subsides, partly because she’s tired but mostly because she realized that she brought all these frustrations to herself but she will never bring herself to hate Jinyoung.

 

 

Woohyun insisted on bringing Jisoo home even though she drives and he would have to take the bus back at the HQ building because that’s where he left his own car. Jisoo told him too many times that she’s going to be fine but he said he couldn’t let her go home alone, especially after seeing how she felt through that punching exercise—which now brings them to the staircase on the way to Jisoo’s apartment. The elevator, apparently, is undergoing maintenance and they have to use the stairs to get to Jisoo’s floor.

“Why did you think I’d do that?” Woohyun asked Jisoo after she told him how scared she was that he would expose her after their chat incident.

“I just got paranoid!” Jisoo replied, laughing.

“I wouldn’t do that. I thought you probably had your reasons and it’s none of my business.” Woohyun explained.

They climb the stairs in silence. It’s the wee hours in the morning, everyone is sleeping peacefully in their beds. The wind is cool and the sky is calm. Everything about this night is perfect, except that it reminds Jisoo of the night when Jinyoung first talked about his past; the night on the rooftop for one of their dates; that night at the vineyard. This night would be so beautiful and romantic but all that Jisoo can think of is Jinyoung and, despite all the bullshit they’re going through right now, she still misses him.

“I’m sorry.” Jisoo suddenly blurts out.

“Sorry?” Woohyun echoed. “Maybe you mean thank you?”

Jisoo got flustered, remembering she hasn’t thanked Woohyun yet for tonight.

“Oh, yeah, of course.” She quickly says. “Thank you—thank you for tonight. I would’ve been crying in my bed right now if it weren’t for you. So, really, you didn’t have to do that but thank you.”

“Whoa, I wasn’t expecting that.” Woohyun said.

They continued walking. Their hands accidently brushed together and Jisoo quickly moves away, in a not so discreet move.

Woohyun puts his hand on his back pockets. “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay that’s why I went to your office and waited for you and when I saw you walking absentmindedly, I just know I can’t afford seeing you like that.”

“And that is exactly what I am sorry for.” Jisoo says apologetically, his eyes fixed on her hands.

Woohyun slows down his steps.

“I can’t do this to you.” Jisoo continues. “I can’t. My heart is in a big complicated mess right now and I’ll hate myself too much if I drag you into this.”

Woohyun took a moment before answering but he eventually smiles.

“Is this about the co-worker?” he asked.

Jisoo turned to him with surprised and apologetic look. She didn’t know how he figured that out and she didn’t really want to tell him but at this point, she can’t lie to him anymore. The truth is the least she can give.

She eventually nods. “It’s just so fucked up right now. You know when your mind and your heart are in a big fucked up mess and you don’t know how to deal with it? You try to fix it but it gets messed up even more. And yet, in the end, your heart still yearns for hi—it.”

Now that’s too much of the truth and Jisoo regrets it in an instant. There is a fine line between being real and hurting Woohyun’s feelings and Jisoo is standing on that exact line right now. Stepping back is useless, taking a step forward will crash him and staying on the line holds some vague probability.

“I can’t drag you into this.” Jisoo continues, trying to keep what is left. “I don’t want to hurt you. You don’t deserve this, you’re a really nice guy—“

“Okay stop right there.” Woohyun stops his tracks completely and so did Jisoo. “Save the friendzone speech later.”

Jisoo quickly turned to him, feeling accused. “F-friendzone speech? I wasn’t trying to do that—was I?”

Woohyun breaks into a smile, soft and weak at first then it turns into a wide grin—it’s the kind of smile that breaks your heart.

“You are so beautiful.” He mumbles, looking at Jisoo.

Jisoo turned pale then blushed.

“Oh, shit, sorry. That was creepy.” Woohyun says.

Jisoo ignored him and waits for some sort of confirmation from Woohyun.

“It’s okay.” Woohyun mumbles, almost inaudible, then he continues walking ahead.

It feels heavy in Jisoo’s heart, she doesn’t know how to handle this. She turned ahead and walks again. They took one last staircase before they reached Jisoo’s floor.

“This is my floor.” She mumbles awkwardly taking a step ahead.

“One date.” Woohyun blurts out.

“What?” Jisoo turned to him with a puzzled look.

“That’s all I need.” Woohyun replied with confidence. “That’s all I need to show you I’m sincere and that my feelings are real. Just one date. Give me that chance and if things still don’t work out, I promise I’ll stop.”

Jisoo thinks about it. Truth is, there is nothing to think about. Jisoo is certain this is something she cannot force to do. She can’t just kick Jinyoung out of her heart—she tried, a couple of times in fact all of which just end up hurting her—and she can’t force Woohyun in, no matter how tempting it is, that will just bring more trouble for all of them.

She has already hurt him by now, agreeing to this date will just end up hurting him in the end but it’s unfair to not even give him a chance, right?

Jisoo takes a deep breath. “Okay, one date.”

Woohyun breaks into a wide smile, so bright it could make the dawn look like the morning. He purses his lips, stopping himself from smiling too wide but failing to do so. Jisoo just shakes her head as a soft smile flashes in her face. Maybe this isn’t the right thing to do but it seems like the best compromise.

They walk ahead in silence, but Woohyun’s excitement is very much evident, a couple of steps more and they reached Jisoo’s door. The smile on their faces drop when they found a man standing by her door.

“Jaebum?” Jisoo asks, taking a step closer.

Jaebum turns around and wonder immediately shoots in his face when he saw Woohyun behind Jisoo.

“What is he doing here?”

“He’s the co-worker?”

Jaebum and Woohyun asked respectively, looking at each other with puzzle and a tiny bit hint of annoyance.

“No!” Jisoo firmly denies, quickly turning to Woohyun. “He’s with Jennie. Remember her? My best friend?”

“Oh, yeah. Jennie the supermodel.” Woohyun says.

“Why does everyone know her as Jennie the supermodel and not as my best friend?” Jisoo mumbles, mostly to herself. “Yeah and obviously, he and I—just the thought of it ugh.”

She groans and Woohyun completely is completely convinced with that.

She turned to Jaebum. “What are you doing here?”

Jaebum didn’t answer. Instead, he turned away with a grimace, telling Jisoo something is up so she turned to Woohyun.

“Uh, thank you for tonight, Woohyun.” She mumbles. “But I think you need to leave.”

Woohyun looked worried. “Are you sure?”

I trust this man more than anyone was what Jisoo wanted to say but she opted for the more ordinary one. “Yeah, of course. Everything’s fine. You should go home, it’s pretty late.”

Woohyun sighs then smiles. “Okay. I’ll call you.”

Jisoo simply nods. “Thanks.”

Jisoo watches as he Woohyun walks and leaves the corridor, feeling Jaebum’s judging stare behind her.

“This is way too fast than I expected. Moving on already?” Jaebum asked.

“Am I not allowed to?” it sounded too aggressive than Jisoo intended and way too fake for Jaebum’s ear. “For the record, you know I’ve been trying to do that for a really long time.”

Jaebum studies her. “Of course you can. But it’s pointless if you don’t want to.”

Jisoo gathers all her patience with a sigh. Jaebum is one of the few persons, if not the one, who knows her the most. He knows her even more than Jennie does. He knows her painfully well and he will always be frank with Jisoo. Always. Maybe that’s the beauty of their friendship. They’re always too frank and real with each other, maybe not in their words but they can just read through each other so well.

“What are you doing here, Jaebum?” Jisoo asks.

“Jennie told me to check on you.” Jaebum answered without thinking.

“Since when? What time were you here?”

Jaebum shrugs, leaning his back on the wall. “I don’t know. Around eight or nine, maybe?”

“And you waited for me for three hours?”

Jaebum scoffed. “Don’t feel too special. I had a few drinks at the convenience store downstairs.”

“Obviously.” Jisoo replies, smelling the alcohol in him. “Well, I’m fine. You can go home now.”

“No one would believe that.”

Jisoo exhales. “I’m fine. Yeah, it still hurts but telling Jinyoung all of those confusion that I locked up inside is quite a relief, liberating even and that’s all you needed to know and I don’t have to explain anything.” She says, obviously referring to how Woohyun ended up taking her home. “Now, go home. Jennie is waiting for you.”

Jaebum takes a deep breath as he leans off the wall. “I’m sleeping over here tonight.”

“What the hell? Go home, Jaebum.” Jisoo insisted. “I’d expect this behaviour from Jinyoung, not you.”

“You want him to be here instead?” Jaebum teased with a smirk. Again, he knows what’s on her mind even more than Jisoo herself.

“Shut up.”

“Come on, just let me in. I’m hungry.”

But just as he knows her all too well, she knows him just as much too.

Her shoulders dropped as anxieties gush through her veins. “Did you guys fight?”

Jaebum froze in his place, thinking as Jisoo just waits for him to say something.

“I can’t deal with the idea of her leaving again.”

 

***

 

Jinyoung had one goal, just one even amidst of what he accomplished, when he came back to New York three months ago. From the moment his lips left Jisoo’s on that beautiful night, he knew he has one thing left to do to make it all right. Not that it was wrong at first, but in that night, he came to realize that he has to do something to make it better, to make if it fair for all of them—that is to properly say goodbye. But even with much determination, it wasn’t that easy after all. It took him the whole three months before he had the courage to face his goal.

D-day came on his last day, just as he finished packing and just before he drives to the airport.

“It’s been a while. I miss you.” Jinyoung mumbled, he was sitting beside Jessica’s grave, looking at the sky. The sun was just setting, dashes of reds and oranges filled up the sky.

“I’m sorry it took me a while.” He continued. “I’ve been kind of busy—the good kind of busy. I’ve met up with Sooyoung and called my mom a lot of times, just like you wanted me to always to do. I’ve made some new friends—a lot of them actually. They are a bit loud but they’re definitely fun.”

“I started talking to Jaebum and Jackson too. They have a lot of patience for me, it turns out.” Jinyoung chuckled. “Even though I’m a pain in the ass, the still stuck with me.”

Jinyoung turned to her grave, looking at the orange tulips he bought for her on his way here, not the usual flower for people who passed away but it was her favorite.

“I’ve apologised to you for a thousand times by now but I just realized I haven’t even thanked you—“ Jinyoung trails off. “Just for everything. I know it’s dumb to say it now because it’s too late but I know you’re still listening, you’re always listening. So, thank you. For spending your life with me and loving me unconditionally. Thank you.”

Jinyoung starts to tear up. He can still feel a pain on his chest at times. Maybe it’ll take a while to get over it or maybe that’s a pain he’ll always feel when he remembers Jessica. But it’s the good kind of pain, the pain that reminds you of someone who has been a huge part of your life.

“Thank you for letting me meet her.” Jinyoung mumbled.“Maybe it’s just my conscience talking but I know you brought her to me.”

“Thank you for letting me love again.”

Jinyoung has one goal when he left New York—just one goal and that is to make it up to Jisoo; tell her how he truly feels. That’s the only thing he has in mind when he boarded the plane, when he got off, until the time he saw her again.

But she shut him down, a lot of times. It confused him. He didn’t understand why she’s pushing him away when he remembers everything and he knows in his heart that Jisoo feels the same way for him. He wanted to talk to her about it but she always runs away. By the time he got the chance to talk her about it, he realized how much he has hurt her. Now, he’s back to square one. He doesn’t know where to start.

He wanted to run after her after that empty house filming but Mark stopped him from doing so and Jaebum convinced him he should let her have time for herself first. So he gave her the time and space she needs. In return, he spent the whole night wide-awake, just thinking of ways to make up to her. But he can’t think of anything. He’s getting drowned with the fact that he has hurt her so much and the regret and self-hatred is consuming him.

He kicks himself off his bed without even looking at the time or anything. He went out of his room, straight to the door, grabbing his keys and hoodie on his way there. He put on his running shoes and went out for a run, like he always do when his mind is a mess. There’s barely any sun when he comes out. He has no idea what time it is but he’s certain it’s way too early for someone to go out for a walk. He still went on with his run anyway, calming his mind while trying to come up with something at the same time.

It was about two hours later, yellow and orange rays of sunlight are starting the day, but he hasn’t come up with anything yet. He’s still clueless and even more frustrated.

He ran back to their apartment and when he got in, Yugyeom is just getting out of the shower and Jackson, straight from bed, gets inside after the younger lad.

“You went out for a run? It’s seven.” Yugyeom wondered.

Jinyoung, as usual, didn’t give him an answer and simply gets inside. He walks past Yugyeom, straight to the kitchen and gets himself a bottle of water, finishing it in one go.

Jackson then steps out of the bathroom just as Jinyoung finishes his water.

“Since when were you out?” Jackson asked. “Your phone has been ringing for hours.”

Jinyoung has no idea who it was, but something tells him it’s something important. He dashes to his room, fishing for his phone through his crumpled sheets, successfully finding it after a bit of a struggle.

As usual, Jackson was either dreaming or overreacting. Jinyoung has two missed calls, both of it are from Jaebum—the ones he chose to ignore answering last night. Apart from that, he got nothing except a single text. He wasn’t going to open it but his heart skipped a beat when his tired eyes read whom it was from. He received the text more than an hour ago, his heart throbbed in his chest when he opened it.

Jisoo: We need to talk. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo how do you feel about that???? Are we on some team jinyoung vs team woohyun now??? Lmao
> 
> As usual, I’d love to hear about what you think about this chapter so drop some comments or tweet me/ask me on cc!
> 
> Thank you!! <3
> 
> PS. That thing about Post It being a shitty company is totally made up. Idk if that’s how things work irl media companies but who knows?


	14. Truce

Jinyoung spent way too much time getting ready today than he usually does but he still manages to leave their apartment extra early to avoid the traffic and to make sure that he gets to the coffee shop earlier than Jisoo. He replied to Jisoo’s text with a simple _of course_ and she texted back with where they’ll meet—which is the coffee shop near the HQ—and that was it. No other messages were sent. It’s making Jinyoung nervous. Jisoo’s text was so sudden, he didn’t expect her to make the first move, more so make the first move this soon. He should be thankful. Finally, Jisoo is going to talk to him but there’s an irking feeling he feels inside that is making him uneasy.

But he pushes those thoughts away. He shouldn’t care about who makes the first move. This is it. This is his chance to talk to her, to make it up to her. Apologize and make things right like he wanted to. Like what he’s supposed to do.

He patiently waits at the coffee shop. He was sitting on a table beside the glass wall so he can easily see Jisoo coming and it wouldn’t be hard for her to find him too. He’s sure he is early for their meeting, about an hour early in fact but he was surprised to see her walking inside, way earlier than expected too.

Jinyoung involuntarily stands up when he saw Jisoo getting in. Jisoo definitely saw him but instead of walking straight to him, she went to the counter first and ordered a drink.

She walks to him a few minutes later, with a drink in hand.

Jinyoung stands again when Jisoo reached their table. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Jisoo says, almost inaudibly, as she takes the seat in front of him. “Sorry, I went ahead to buy coffee. I didn’t know you haven’t ordered yet.”

Jinyoung was quite caught off hand at how formal and _unfriendly_ Jisoo sounds but he chose to brush it away.

“It’s okay. I’ll just have coffee upstairs.” He said.

Jisoo nods, taking a sip of her coffee. She was surprisingly doing well than she expected. Fortunately, she hasn’t done anything stupid yet like spilling her coffee or suddenly snorting a laugh because of how awkward they look right now. It breaks her heart but she didn’t come here for that.

“So—“

“I’m not here to talk about _us_.”

Jinyoung was just starting to mumble when Jisoo cuts him off.

“I don’t want to talk about it yet.” She clarified.

“Oh.” Jinyoung couldn’t hide his disappointment but he clears his throat and straightens his back. “What is it?”

Jisoo takes another sip, obviously nervous, then sighs.

“I don’t know if you’re aware,” Jisoo starts. “But Jennie is leaving in a couple of weeks.”

“Leaving? Where is she going?” Jinyoung has no idea.

“Milan. She’s coming back to work. For good. For a long time. Like before, she’s leaving Jaebum for work.” Jisoo explained vaguely.

She didn’t have to go into details. Jinyoung knows exactly what is going on. It makes sense now why Jaebum is back on being his grumpy self again and why the three of them with Jackson don’t hangout these days.

“They barely have a month before she leaves. Less than three weeks to be exact.” Jisoo continues. “I know, it’s not like they’re not going to meet each other again or something. It’s like what it was three years ago. This time, they weren’t breaking up—they’re facing LDR like they’re supposed to—but they’re acting like it’s going to be the end of them!”

The frustration is very evident in Jisoo’s voice. Jinyoung wanted to reach for her hand and comfort her but he chose to just listen.

“They should be making the most of those three weeks but they aren’t.” Jisoo trails off. She turned to the glass wall and watches the people coming in the building before she continues. “And now there’s this whole mess with us that stresses them too.”

She turned to Jinyoung. There was a mix of annoyance and embarrassment in her eyes that makes Jinyoung guilty.

“You know how much I hated it when I got stuck between them and now we’re doing the same thing to the both of them.” Jisoo muttered.

Both of them are mummed, embarrassed by the truth.

Now, Jinyoung understands why Jisoo is doing this. Obviously, she’s not ready to forgive him; sort their things out but she’s willing to do anything for her best friends. They haven’t really talked about it but he knows how much Jennie means to Jaebum and he feels bad being a nuisance to them.

He takes a deep breath. “What should we do?”

 

***

 

“Is this a double date?”

“How did this happen?”

Jaebum and Jennie say after exchanging wide-eye looks before turning to their friends in front of them. Jisoo and Jinyoung are sitting in front of them, looking more comfortable than usual. Jaebum and Jennie got texts from the two of them inviting them for dinner at a pub near the couple’s place, neither of them thought the four of them are having dinner together. It was so sudden, especially taking into consideration what happened the night before. But Jisoo and Jinyoung are looking so unbothered that they cannot believe it is actually happening.

Jisoo, with her arms crossed and leaning on the table, shakes her head. “We’re here to talk about something else.”

“Now you make it sound more fishy.” Jennie mumbles.

“What’s up?” Jaebum said coolly, his arms around Jennie’s shoulder, resting on her chair.

It was Jinyoung and Jisoo’s turn to exchange looks. They gave each other slight nods before turning to the couple. Looking at the two like this, Jaebum can’t help but realize just how compatible his best friends are.

Two servers came by their table to bring their draft beers and the food they ordered. The waitresses are taking their time in putting down their orders—it was obvious they’re trying to flirt with Jinyoung and Jaebum but the two guys are oblivious. Instead, it was Jisoo and Jennie who noticed. Jennie made sure she shot the girls a feisty look, her eyes dragging them as they leave the table while Jisoo simply shakes her head and frustrations away.

“Okay, so as I was saying,” Jisoo continues as Jaebum and Jinyoung each take a glass of beer and moves it to _their_ girls before taking their own. “We’re here to tell you something important.”

“You guys are now—“

“No. Don’t even go there.” Jisoo cuts Jennie off earning a smirk from Jaebum. “It’s about you two.”

The smirk in Jaebum’s face quickly drops and his chin clenched while Jennie stopped midway when she’s reaching for a potato wedge. They waited for Jisoo to continue, Jennie’s eyes are fixed on his drink while Jaebum takes his first sip.

“You should get married.”

Jaebum coughs, dramatically, as he chokes on his drink and Jennie dropped the potato wedge she just took when Jisoo said that.

“Are you crazy?” Jennie exclaims.

“I told you they’d react this way.” Jinyoung whispered to Jisoo.

Jisoo rolls her eyes. “You act like you weren’t thinking about that three years ago.”

“That was three years ago.” Jennie emphasized.

“A lot has changed.” Jaebum added.

“Yeah but was loving each other less one of those?” Jisoo dared, earning a sharp stare from the two.

“My point is, you’re just going to pick up where you left off, and that’s your wedding.” Jisoo explains.

But Jaebum and Jennie still won’t buy the idea so Jinyoung decides to step in.

“Jiso— _We_ think this is the best for you two.” He starts. “You’re living together already, it’s pretty much just sealing the deal.”

“This is something you should have decided before. Unless your feelings changed which I doubt.” Jisoo convinced further.

Jisoo and Jinyoung didn’t say anything anymore, letting the couple think. Jaebum takes another sip from his beer, a big gulp and Jennie eats the potato wedge she dropped, both of them silently considering their friends’ suggestion. Jaebum puts down his beer and reaches for Jennie’s hand below the table. Jennie wasn’t startled, not even a bit, their fingers fitting into each other’s naturally. Jaebum gently rubs his thumb on the back of Jennie’s hand as she plays with his fingertips. It’s probably a thing for old couples or it could be specific to Jennie and Jaebum, but with that silence and simple movements, a quiet discussion is being made.

Jisoo leans back, her shoulder hitting Jinyoung’s but none of them made a big deal about it.

“Should we just leave them and decide on their own?” Jinyoung whispers. “We’ve made our point.”

“I’m not leaving until I’m sure they’re on board.” Jisoo replied.

“ _I_ can’t get married.” Jennie blurts out.

“What?” Jisoo asked, confused and nervous. “What do you mean?”

It sounds absurd to Jisoo but what’s more surprising is Jaebum doesn’t seem to be bothered about it.

“I have a contract, remember?” Jennie said, her voice sad.

Jisoo exhales. “You don’t. I’ve read your contract and there’s nothing about you not allowed to get married. They’re not allowed to do that in the first place—stop you from getting married or any other personal stuff, in that matter.”

“You know what I’m talking about.” Jennie said.

“The shit rules they’re tryna bind you with?” Jisoo asked. “That’s a slave contract and slave contracts are never written. So, _legally_ , you’re not breaching any contract with this.”

Jaebum couldn’t help but smirk. “You know some legal shit now after hanging out with that lawyer, huh?”

Jisoo and Jinyoung shot Jaebum a look, apart from Jisoo kicking him on the leg.

“Ouch!” Jaebum reacted.

“Shut up.” Jisoo turned to Jennie. “Look, I know it sounds crazy but this is the only thing I can think of.”

“We noticed how you’re dealing with this whole thing and you’re just running away from it.” Jinyoung backed Jisoo up. “You can’t just wait for her flight in vain. You need to do something.”

It felt a little weird hearing how Jinyoung refer to them as _we_ but Jisoo chose not to think about it too much. His intentions are probably different from what she thinks. Besides, it’s her idea to forget about them for now, so she should keep it at that.

“Assurance.” Jisoo mumbles. “Maybe I’m thinking way ahead, maybe I shouldn’t meddle with your relationship but I just want the best for you and I think it’s what you both need.”

Jaebum and Jennie didn’t say a word, answering Jisoo with silence but little did she know that their grip on each other’s hand just got tighter.

Jinyoung gently reaches for Jisoo’s arm, startling her a bit but she tries to remain unfazed.

“I think we should leave them to think.” Jinyoung leans in to whisper. “It’s basically checkmate now.”

Jisoo considers then sighs, surrendering. “It’s not my decision to make, it’s still yours in the end but I hope you think about it.”

Jisoo waited for some sort of reaction from the two but didn’t get anything. They definitely need to talk in private now.

Jisoo sighs and takes her bag, ready to leave.

“I’ll see you at work tomorrow.” She told Jaebum then she turned to Jennie and gave her a pat on the head. “Call me, okay?”

Jinyoung gave the two a nod then he and Jisoo exits the pub.

They walk in silence, none of them knowing what to say. It was half awkward and half comfortable. It’s been a while since the two of them has been alone together like this and even though they’re in an awkward situation right now, this quiet walk feels strangely good.

If it’s only Jinyoung’s decision to make, he would have talked things out to Jisoo right now, probably get on his knees as he apologize. But it feels like Jisoo couldn’t even bring herself to talk about matters that he doesn’t know—the wounds are probably still fresh that dealing with it right now will just end up hurting her more. So he lets her be, he lets her lead the way, wait for her ‘til she’s ready.

If things were only different, if they’re only living in some utopian world where getting hurt is not a thing, Jisoo would have taken Jinyoung’s hand right now and forget about everything else. But it wasn’t that easy. Wounds are meant to be healed, not trampled upon when it’s still fresh. She’s scared that if they force it now, nothing will be left. So, she lets it be, just roaming in this weird neutral atmosphere.

“Do you want to grab dinner?” Jisoo said, stopping in front of a chicken place.

Jinyoung couldn’t hide his confusion, making Jisoo blush.

“I-I just… I realized we didn’t really get the chance to eat and now I’m hungry.” She stutters. “But it’s okay if you—“

“No! No.” Jinyoung steps in the chicken place. “I’m starving too.”

They went inside and ordered chicken and two beers each. They waited for their orders in silence, both of them trying to shy their minds off of awkwardness.

“Ugh,” Jinyoung suddenly groans, breaking the silence and making Jisoo think that he is getting annoyed at her.

“We didn’t even finish our beers and they’re probably drinking it right now.” He mumbles with a fake annoyance.

Jisoo couldn’t help but burst into a soft laughter, relieved.

Jinyoung breaks into a smile. They may look like they’re good at being professional with this truce thing, but truth is, they just both miss each other so much that even a temporary agreement is enough for them.

 

 

They left the chicken place quickly after finishing two servings of chicken and three glasses of beer each. They didn’t bother talking about how they’re going home or where they’ll separate ways, they just naturally started walking in the streets. Jinyoung moved to the outmost side of the sidewalk, accidentally brushing his arm to Jisoo’s. She simply smiled and so did Jinyoung.

They are walking in silence when their phones suddenly chimed at same time. They naturally took out their phones, a bit weirded out at how it received a message at the exact same time. They stopped for a moment to read the text. It was a message from Jennie and Jaebum, they created a group chat with the four of them, each sending one message.

Jennie:

We’re getting married

Jaebum:

but we’re just registering our marriage. No ceremonies

Jisoo turned to Jinyoung with wide eyes, as if to check if she read it right and his wide smile confirms it.

“ _Ahhhh_!” Jisoo squealed. “They’re doing it!”

“They’re getting married!” Jinyoung exclaimed.

Jisoo raised her hand and Jinyoung immediately hit it for a hi-five. They got too excited and the next thing they knew, they are already jumping up and down, their fingers interlaced. When it made sense to Jisoo, she quickly detached her hands from Jinyoung’s and takes a step back—too aggressively that she ended up tripping on her toe. Jinyoung was stunned with the sudden movement but he got his focus back just in time before Jisoo hits a man passing by. He quickly grabs Jisoo’s arm back and pulls her close. There was a brief moment of them just staring at each other before Jinyoung gently let her go, scared that she might think he’s taking chances at her.

“Sorry.” Jinyoung whispered.

Jisoo turned away, embarrassed. “Sorry too.”

Their hearts beat fast in their chest. Neither of them said a word but both of them felt the same—the simple touch sent electricity throughout their bodies, making their hearts beat again.

 

 

“Excuse me!” Jinyoung throws himself in the couch, between Jackson and Yugyeom, as soon as he arrived in the apartment.

Jackson and Yugyeom exchanged puzzled looks because Jinyoung is totally in a good mood. Jackson, being the good friend that he is, leaves the couch and moves on the floor instead.

“Where have you been?” Jackson fishes as he casually reaches for the bag of potato chips he’s sharing with Yugyeom.

“I had dinner and drinks.” Jinyoung replies, his voice almost sing-song-y, as he continues to squeeze himself into Yugyeom and successfully annoying the younger lad.

“Hey! Move!” Yugyeom protested, his voice cracking.

Jinyoung bursts into laughter, a little bit too much for the situation.

“Who were you with?” Jackson asked. “Were you with Jaebum?”

“For a while, but we had to leave.” Jinyoung replied.

“We?” Jackson echoed.

Jinyoung’s laughter fades into a soft smile. “Yeah.” He simply answered before getting up from the couch and walking to his room, so lightly as is he is on the clouds.

Today was uncharacteristically and surprisingly fun.

 

***

 

“So are you guys ready? Have you accomplished all the requirements?” Jisoo asked Jaebum.

Jaebum didn’t answer, eyes focused on his camera.

“You barely have three days to prepare.” Jisoo insists.

Again, Jaebum replied with silence.

“I think he’s mad at us.” Jinyoung casually whispered to Jisoo.

They’re back on being a professional couple and the truce, it seems, isn’t lifted yet.

“Is he?” Jisoo whispered back before turning to Jaebum. “Are you mad at us?”

Jaebum finally answers but only with a heavy sigh. He finished changing his battery and then turned to the two.

“Filming in five.” He mumbles before turning his back on them.

“He’s mad at us.” Jisoo told Jinyoung, sounding offended.

“Of course he would.” Jinyoung said, walking to the side to get their pushcart. “His ego got wounded since we are technically the ones who proposed to Jennie. His romantic ego is hurt.”

“Ready!” Jaebum called.

They are filming for Jinji’s episode. They’re doing one of the home-y episodes; they’re doing grocery shopping at the supermarket then they’ll film at home, preparing some snacks and eating afterwards, a _mukbang._ The additional spice for this episode though is that there is a supermarket challenge where Jisoo and Jinyoung will given a budget for food and make the best snack for the mukbang later. The judges are the crew—a.k.a. Jaebum, Lisa and Youngjae—then, whoever loses will do the dishes. A classic.

Jinyoung pushed their pushcart—with two baskets for each of them—beside Jisoo. They then framed themselves in the camera and the filming starts accordingly.

“Don’t worry about it. He’ll get over it, he knows we’re right.” Jinyoung assured.

They barely started when they notice Lisa walking towards them, two people following behind her.

Jinyoung and Jisoo stopped walking, confused. Lisa smiles at them from a far.

“Just a quick break, guys.” Lisa says when she reached them. “Someone wants to say hi.”

“Good day,” the girl, looking a few of years younger than them, behind Lisa says. “I’m Hwang Yoojin.”

She bowed at Jinyoung and Jisoo politely and they quickly bowed in reply.

“This is my grandmother and we’re huge fans of you two and your show.” Yoojin explains, stepping aside to make way for her grandmother. “Especially her, she insists on watching every episode and we happen to be here now that you’re filming.”

“Sorry to disturb you.” The older lady said.

Jisoo and Jinyoung’s faces light up, both surprised and delighted to meet a unique fan.

“It’s okay, Grandma!” Jisoo assures, taking the old lady’s hand. “Thank you for supporting us.”

“Thank you so much, Grandmother.” Jinyoung says, bowing at the old lady.

The grandmother smiles at them warmly.

“She says you remind her of her husband, my grandfather.” Yoojin explains.

Jisoo breaks into a wide smile. Still holding the older lady’s hand, she says, “Do you and your grandpa go on a lot of dates when you were young too?”

“No,” the grandmother replies gently, tapping the back of Jisoo’s hand. “There weren’t much to do for a date back in our time.”

Jisoo giggles lightly and Jinyoung’s smile turn wider beside her.

The grandmother then takes Jinyoung’s hand and puts it on top of Jisoo’s hand. “You two—the way you look at each other and your simple acts—it reminds me of me and my husband.”

Grandmother’s voice softens towards the end, her voice breaking as she tears up a bit.

“They were married for sixty-four years.” Yoojin butts in. “Up until my grandfather’s deathbed, they were like love birds, caring for each other selflessly. They are my top _OTP_ ,” She giggles before continuing. “Then you two.”

Jisoo blushes and Jinyoung’s ears get red and hot hearing the compliment.

Grandmother put their hands together. It was awkward for a bit but they eventually interlaced their fingers, making the old lady smile wider and tear up completely.

“You should live long together.” She says. “Even if words fail, you should always show each other what you feel.”

 

***

 

“Hey, isn’t it too early for you to pack?” Jisoo asked.

It’s Saturday night. Jisoo came over to Jennie’s after she called her and asked her for help in packing. Jaebum is outside catching up on football.

“You have two more weeks.” Jisoo added.

“You know I hate cram-packing.” Jennie replied. She is facing her closet, her back on Jisoo who’s basically taking out the clothes she has put on her luggage. “And I’m shipping my luggage first. I don’t want to carry a lot of stuff on my actual flight.”

Jisoo sighed. “Of course. Supermodel Jennie mode is back on in Milan. She has to be elegant.”

“Shut up—“ Jennie was cut off when she turned around and found Jisoo messing up her things. “Hey!”

Jisoo laughs in guilt as Jennie snatches a coat from her and puts it back on her luggage.

“This is not the help I’m asking for.” Jennie said.

Jisoo makes a face then she helps Jennie in packing, for real, starting with putting back the clothes she took out. Once she’s done with the clothes, Jisoo turned to Jennie’s dresser to pack her vanity essentials.

“Hey, can you leave this and just give it to me?” Jisoo asked holding a curling iron she got from Jennie’s drawer.

Jennie turned to her. “Sure but I haven’t used that since I left, I don’t think that works anymore.”

“Let’s see.” Jisoo then kneels down and plugged the iron.

“I didn’t know you like that. You should’ve just taken it while I was gone.” Jennie said, turning back to her closet.

“I was gonna do that!” Jisoo replied, waiting for the iron to be hot. “But Jaebum stopped me. He didn’t let me touch any of your things.”

Jennie smiled. “You know he’s just quite sensitive.”

“He’s _too_ sensitive!” Jisoo corrected her after twirling her hair in the rod, releasing it a few seconds later. “Oh, it still works fine!”

“Is it?”

Jisoo nods. “I’m bringing this home!” She said, continuing to curl the rest of her hair.

“Anyway,” Jisoo mumbles. “Back to sensitive Jaebum, I think he took our suggestion the wrong way.”

“ _Your_ suggestion?” Jennie asked.

“Yeah! For you two to get married.” Jisoo replied, half of her attention is on her hair. “He’s clearly mad at us.”

“He’s mad at _you_?”

“Yes. He barely talked to us during the shoot yesterday! He’s like a kid.”

“ _Us_?”

“Yes. Us. Jinyoung and I— _ugh_.” Jisoo groans, realizing what exactly Jennie’s questions are. “Shut up.”

Jennie bursts into laughter, loving how Jisoo got annoyed so easily.

“So you’re okay now? You guys _finally_ talked it out and made out—made up, I meant made up of course.” Jennie giggles.

Jisoo sighed, sitting on Jennie’s vanity chair—still preoccupied with curling her hair. “No.”

“What?” Jennie is puzzled. “But the other night—you look okay. I mean, you even have this tag-team thing going on in convincing us.”

“It’s just a truce.” Jisoo replied.

“Bullshit.” Jennie snorted. “What for? Why can’t you just talk about it like adults?”

“Why can’t you just face LDR like adults?” Jisoo fired back.

Jennie rolled her eyes. “Funny.”

Jisoo smirks, happy with her comeback.

“I’m serious.” Jennie crosses her arms. “You—both of you—are just tormenting yourselves. You both want the same thing. Why can’t you be mature, swallow your pride and just talk about it?”

Jisoo exhales, putting her arms down for a while.

“I don’t want to talk about it yet. I’m scared.” She admitted. “But I need his help to convince you two—which, by the way was successful. Are you ready for Monday? You’re finally getting married!”

Jennie could only laugh at how good Jisoo is in changing the subject.

Jennie takes a deep breath. “Yeah, I think. We called our parents earlier and told them about it.”

“Really? What did they say?”

“They’re thrilled, of course. Our moms were really excited but we think they got a little bit disappointed when we said we’re just going to register and not have an actual wedding.”

Jisoo frowns. Their parents weren’t the only ones disappointed, Jennie clearly feels the same.

“You’re disappointed too.” Jisoo pointed out, trying to be casual by going back in curling her hair.

“I don’t know.” Jennie replied with a sigh and a weak smile. “You’re right. This is the assurance that we need. I just wished we could’ve figured it out earlier so we had time to prepare for a simple ceremony at least.”

Jisoo pouts. “You can get married again when you come back!”

Jennie smiled weakly. “You think so?”

Jisoo watches Jennie through the dresser’s mirror. She sighs. In the mirror, instead of a mid-twenties supermodel, she sees the eighteen-year-old Jennie fangirling over celebrity weddings and planning her own fairy tale wedding and Jisoo can’t help but feel bad about it.

 

 

Jinyoung couldn’t tell what time it was but he was suddenly waken up by his phone ringing and vibrating under his sheets. His hand wanders on his bed with his eyes closed, looking for his phone. He finally found it just before the last ring and answers it immediately with his eyes still shut, mind still up in the dreamland.

“Hm?” He mumbles, his voice hoarse and sleepy, when he put his phone in his ear.

“Oh, sorry did I wake you up?”

The voice immediately wakes him up completely.

“Jisoo?” He clears his throat. “No, you didn’t. What’s up?”

It’s obviously a lie but Jisoo continued anyway. “I thought about something!”

“What is it?”

“Jennie and Jaebum,” And _of course_ flashing sign opened in Jinyoung’s head.

“What about them?”

“I can’t allow them to not have a wedding ceremony.”

“What? Jaebum is already mad at us.” Jinyoung reminds her. “I almost dreamt of his chin.”

Jisoo lightly giggles and it sounded like a lullaby on Jinyoung’s ear, sending him further up in the clouds.

“It’s Jennie’s dream to have a romantic wedding.” Jisoo says.

“But they’ve already decided to simply register it.” Jinyoung’s voice is apologetic. “If we force them to have a ceremony, they might suddenly change their minds.”

“You’re right,” Jisoo replied, Jinyoung can see her frown from the other line.

They were quiet for a while, both of them thinking.

“How about a surprise ceremony?” Jinyoung suggests.

“Surprise ceremony?”

“Yeah. Well, maybe not a real wedding ceremony but some kind of celebration.”

“We can invite their parents!” The sudden excitement in Jisoo’s voice is making Jinyoung warm.

“Yeah and some friends, just the closest ones.”

“And their vows! They have to exchange vows.” Jisoo is getting more excited.

They spent the next hours planning the surprise. Jinyoung realizes that Jisoo knows Jennie by the back of her hand, telling every single detail as if it’s her own wedding.

“It should be at the rooftop. It’s simple and personal for them both.”

“I think it’ll be easy to ask permission from their landlord, she loves them.”

“There should be daisies—white little daisies, she loves them—and roses of course.”

“It wouldn’t be hard for us to prepare. It’ll be just like a rush Post It production, we can wing this.”

“Hey, Jinyoung, are you still there?” Jisoo asks, thinking he has fallen asleep.

“Of course. I’m just here.” Jinyoung replied, his voice soft and dreamy.

“I thought you’ve fallen asleep, you weren’t saying anything.”

“I just… I got lost listening to your voice.”

Jisoo didn’t say anything, pretending he didn’t make her heart flutter with that. She’s thankful he can’t see her right now because she has definitely lost her _truce-cool_.

“You think we can pull this off?” She asked.

“Yeah, of course.” He answered with no hesitation.

There was a brief moment of silence, both of them assuring themselves. They could be referring to other things aside from the surprise, but the intent is there. They’re going to get through this.

“But I think Jaebum should know about this.” Jinyoung added, bringing them back to the surprise.

“What? But it’s a surprise!” Jisoo insisted.

“Yeah, but like I said, he’s already mad at us.” Jinyoung explained patiently. “It might make him feel better if he’ll take charge of this one and surprise Jennie himself. You know, he is a romantic in disguise.”

“And besides, we barely have a day to prepare.” Jinyoung added, his voice still soft. “We need all the help we can get.”

It’s way past bedtime and it’s probably dawn now. It’s time to say goodbye and hang up but it seems a little bit hard to do. They don’t want this to end, as usual. This is when it felt natural the most. It’s like their hearts aren’t crying for help.

Jisoo yawns. “You’re right.”

Jinyoung smiled. “It’s late. You should sleep.”

“Thank you, Jinyoung.” Jisoo mumbled softly.

Jinyoung smiled wider. “Anything for you.”

 

***

 

Jisoo is running late. She and Jinyoung are going to be Jennie and Jaebum’s witnesses for their marriage registration. Their schedule at the office is at three-thirty in the afternoon but it’s already quarter past three and she’s still on the road.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m on my way.” Jisoo convinced Jennie, she’s talking to her on the phone through her earphones while driving. “Worse come to worst, Jinyoung alone will be fine as a witness, ri—“

“Kim Jisoo!” Jennie cuts her off. “Just get in here!”

Jisoo snorted a laugh. “Yeah, five minutes.”

Jennie hangs up and without even a minute later, Jisoo got another incoming call from Jaebum.

“I’m on my way!” Jisoo told him as soon as she answered.

“Did you get the dress?” Jaebum asked in a whisper.

Jisoo smiled. “Of course I did!”

Truth is, she’s running late because she went to buy Jennie a dress she’ll wear for the party later.

“How’s everything going?” Jaebum asked.

“Mark, Jackson and Youngjae are already on the rooftop, setting up. I think Mark will pick your parents up from the station later. Bambam and Yugyeom are on their way back to the rooftop after getting the sound system. Lisa and Rosé went out to buy the food and drinks.” Jisoo replied. “Basically, everyone ditched work for this. You should be proud.”

“Great.” Jaebum mumbles and Jisoo is sure he has his wide crazy grin on.

“How ‘bout you? Are you ready?” Jisoo asked.

“I’m literally here just waiting to sign the papers.” Jaebum replied.

“No.” Jisoo said, pulling over in front of the office. “I meant your vows.”

“Vows?” Jaebum echoed. “Do they do that in marriage registration too?”

Jisoo gets off her car and gets inside the office.

“For later, dummy! You should have some exchanging vows. Do you think we’ll only drink tonight? Your parents are going to be there!”

“I’m not ready for that!” Jaebum panics.

“Oh, come on.” Jisoo said in front of Jaebum. She got in just in time. “I’m sure you have lots of love letters for her—that will work! Important thing is it’s from your heart.”

Jaebum looked terrified.

“Finally.” Jennie exhales when she peeks from inside the office and found Jisoo panting.

“You two get in here.” She said.

Jisoo walks to Jaebum. Jaebum takes a deep breath staring at the door.

“You got this, lover boy.” Jisoo whispered.

The marriage registration didn’t take long, it’s basically just filling up a form and signing it. They are done in less than an hour and now they have to stall before going home because the setup is not yet done and their parents are still on their way. The plan is for everyone to be at the rooftop of their apartment to congratulate them so starting without their parents will mess up the plan.

“Are you guys ready there?”

“Where are you now?”

Jinyoung and Jisoo asked Jackson and Mark respectively on each other’s phone.

“The setup is done.” Jackson answered. “Bambam and Yugyeom are just finishing it up on the sounds. The food just arrived so we’re just waiting for the parents and you, of course.”

Jinyoung nods. “Okay. We’ll stall a bit until the parents get there.”

Jackson mumbles a yes and they hang up. Jinyoung turned to Jisoo after putting his phone on his pocket.

“Text me when you get there. Drive safe!” Jisoo concludes her phone call with Mark, in a sing-song voice.

“Do you really end calls with your guy friends like that?” Jinyoung blurts out, regretting it in an instant.

Jisoo raised one of her eyebrows then sighs. “Shouldn’t you know that?”

They stared at each other awkwardly for a moment before breaking into laughter.

“Guys, what’s up? Jennie’s just in the bathroom.” Jaebum suddenly appears, pulling the two from their daydream. “Everything ready?”

“Yeah, setup is done.” Jinyoung says as his laughter fades.

“We’re just waiting for your parents to arrive. Jennie’s parents are on their way too.” Jisoo added.

Jaebum takes a deep breath. “What do we do now?”

Jinyoung and Jisoo exchanged looks.

“We need at least an hour to make sure everyone’s there at the rooftop.” Jinyoung said.

“How about we go for some drinks?” Jisoo suggested. “It’ll be weird if we don’t even celebrate.”

Jaebum nods. “Yeah. That sounds great.”

As if on cue, Jennie appears from behind Jaebum.

“What’s the meeting about?” She mumbles, linking her arm in Jaebum’s.

“Uh, we’re just talking about what to eat!” Jisoo lied. “Do you have anything in mind?”

Jennie thinks. “I don’t know. I don’t feel like eating out tonight.”

“What?”

“No!”

Jaebum and Jisoo said in chorus, sounding too obvious while Jinyoung just shakes his head.

“W-why?” Jennie asks, unsure. “I just thought we should stay in tonight,” her grip on Jaebum’s arm turned tighter. “It’s a Monday night, after all.”

Of course. She would want to spend the night of their ‘marriage’ alone at home. She’d love to do something romantic at least when they couldn’t even have a proper wedding ceremony.

“I just…” Jisoo trails off, trying to come up with an alibi. “We should have some dinner together! Have some shots! It’s too lonely to celebrate alone.”

It doesn’t make sense so Jinyoung steps in.

“I know this place around here that serves good beer.” Jinyoung says. “You owe us some drinks, after all.”

Jennie turns to Jaebum. Jaebum acts as if he’s considering it before he shrugs.

“A few drinks don’t sound bad.” He said.

Jennie sighs, surrendering. “Okay.”

 

 

“What happened? You were the one insisting we should grab some drinks and now you’re rushing to go home already.” Jennie says as she puts on her seatbelt. “We didn’t even finish our first bottle.”

“My stomach suddenly hurts.” Jisoo lied, again. “I need to go to the bathroom.”

“Are you okay?” Jennie’s voice turned worried. “Should we go grab some medicines first?”

“No, no. I’m fine. I just need the bathroom.” Jisoo said.

“Okay, we’ll drive you home.” Jennie said. “But what about your car?”

“Jinyoung will take my car and no, we should go to your apartment instead. It’s nearer.” Jisoo said.

“Is it?” Thank God Jennie is bad at directions because Jisoo’s place is definitely nearer.

Jaebum drives as fast as he can, a little bit rash since he’s feeling nervous too but luckily, they got to their apartment safely.

Jisoo’s bathroom alibi is working pretty well since she’s jittery and nervous just like Jaebum.

They got in the elevator and when they reached their floor, only Jisoo followed Jennie out, leaving Jaebum inside the elevator to go straight to the rooftop.

“Huh? Did Jaebum forget our floor? He didn’t get off.” Jennie mumbles. She was about to press the elevator buttons but Jisoo dragged her to the direction of their unit instead.

“B-but Jaebum—“ Jennie suddenly remembers Jisoo’s emergency. “Oh, yeah, right. Sorry.”

They immediately run to their unit and Jennie unlocks the door in an instant.

Once inside, Jennie went straight to their room to look for medicines.

“Just get in the bathroom, I’ll look for—“ Jennie got mummed when she opened the door and found a white dress on the bed, a small bouquet of pink roses and white daisies beside it.

Jisoo slowly walks behind her and Jennie turns to her, eyes wide in wonder. She somehow knows and yet is oblivious of what’s going on.

“W-what… why… this…” Jennie stutters, trying to grasp what is happening.

Jisoo just nods, smile plastered wide in her face.

“Oh my gosh.” Jennie mumbles, almost breathless.

Jisoo takes her hand. “Jaebum prepared this for you. Well, we obviously helped a bit but he _hard carried_ this one. He’s giving you a surprise wedding ceremony—or celebration. Something romantic.”

“Oh my gosh.” Jennie repeats, pulling Jisoo in for a hug.

“It’s probably not as grand as your Pinterest board, but it’s as romantic as Jaebum can get.” Jisoo says making Jennie giggle. “So get ready now, everybody’s waiting up on the deck.”

Jennie does as she’s told and puts on the dress that Jisoo bought. Jennie realized she can trust Jisoo with everything, even with picking her wedding dress. The dress fits Jennie perfectly. It’s a thin-strapped dress, body-fitting satin with lace scallop lining. It’s simple yet elegant, something that fits Jennie’s style perfectly.

Jisoo did her hair and put it on a loose ponytail with lazy curls in the end. Since Jennie already has her makeup on, there’s nothing much to do except for a light touch-ups.

“You’re so beautiful.” Jisoo mumbles with a fake cry—for now, for sure she’ll cry buckets later.

Jennie smiled at her then she takes the bouquet of roses from her bed and they walk out of the unit, straight to the elevator.

Jennie is holding Jisoo’s hand, her grip getting tighter as they get closer to the roof deck, while her other hand is playing with her engagement ring that she never took off. They went out of the elevator shortly after, taking two more flights of stairs to get to the top.

Jennie is breathless when they reached the top. Partly because of the stairs but mostly because the feelings in her chest right now is too overwhelming and the sight before her eyes isn’t helping. Everything is beautiful.

There are white lanterns on the ledges, lighting up the whole floor. At one corner, there is some kind of DJ booth but instead of a DJ, Yugyeom is sitting there, taking control of the music. Jackson, Bambam, and Mark are standing beside him and on the other side, Youngjae is standing, humming some mainstream love song. There is a long table on the side, filled with food and drinks, decorated with flowers and other white ornament. Lisa and Rosé are at the end of the table, welcoming Jennie with warm and excited smiles. Jennie starts to tear up when she saw her parents seated beside Jaebum’s parents at the other end of the table, both pairs got to their feet when they saw Jennie coming. Jennie wanted to run to them and hug them tight but Jisoo guided her toward a path of red and white rose petals leading to an arc made from vines and roses, with white led lights draped around it.

Everything is breathtakingly beautiful but when Jennie saw Jaebum standing below it, dressed stunningly in a midnight blue suit with a black undershirt, smiling widely with his eyes glistening in tears, Jennie just breaks down in tears. She’s fighting her tears with her gummy smile, turning her into a sobbing ball of sunshine. It’s an unexplainable feeling to walk towards the person you love, both of you just wanting to start your happily ever after or forever—or whatever it is that you call life of genuine happiness is.

Jisoo walks with Jennie but leaves halfway to stand on the side, together with Jinyoung, acting like the best man and maid of honour.

Jennie walks slowly towards Jaebum, their eyes locked in a teary gaze. With every step, their hearts beat faster in their chests. She reached him after what feels like forever; he didn’t bother waiting anyway.

Jaebum removes his jacket and puts in Jennie. It’s cold and if Jisoo has a flaw in picking Jennie’s dress, it’s the fact that she totally forgot that it’s chilly at night on top of a building. Jaebum then lets out his hand and Jennie takes it with no hesitation, quickly intertwining their fingers. They stand in front of their family, their friends and in front of each other for a good moment—they’re just staring at each other, smiling and crying like fools. Jaebum reached for Jennie’s face and gently wiped her tears with his thumb. He held Jennie’s face and leaned closer, planting a kiss on her head. He releases her then fishes something from his pocket, struggling with one hand because he didn’t want his other hand to let go of Jennie’s.

“Is that a ring?” Jisoo whispers to Jinyoung. “He said he didn’t prepare for a vow but he bought a ring?”

Jinyoung lightly chuckles. “As expected from romantic Im Jaebum. I think he has that ring since three years ago.”

“ _Three_ years? Did he buy a ring even with Jennie away?” Jisoo mumbles. “Why didn’t I know about that?”

Jinyoung shrugs. “Well, I’m his best friend after all.”

Jisoo laughs in disbelief, shaking her head as they divert their attentions back to the couple.

Jennie stared at the tiny box in Jaebum’s hand, knowing exactly what it is but she’s still in a puzzle.

“Jisoo said we should exchange vows too.” Jaebum mumbles with sly smile.

Jaebum chose to struggle opening the box with one hand instead of letting go of Jennie’s hand so Jackson walks to them and stands between them, holding the ring with one hand and the other holding a mic for them.

“Sorry we couldn’t have a proper wedding.” Jaebum mumbles as he takes the mic.

Jaebum takes a deep breath, staring into Jennie’s eyes. He takes her other hand then leans in to plant a kiss on them.

“Jennie,” Jaebum turns to the mic and lets out a deep sigh, obviously nervous. “I’m going to suck at this so bad.”

Jennie and all of then burst into one harmonious laugh making Jaebum even more embarrassed. He shakes his jitters away with a shrug but to no use. His mouth his dry and he couldn’t find the courage to speak.

“What’s going on? Is he really nervous? Is he having cold feet?” Jisoo whispers to Jinyoung in panic.

“He’s like that when he’s really nervous.” Jinyoung mumbles. “But I’ve never seen him like this since he tried confessing to my sister when he’s thirteen.”

“Your sister?”

Jinyoung nods. “His puppy love.”

“Whoa. I didn’t know about that. Did he confess successfully?”

Jinyoung shakes his head. “He ran away.”

Jisoo snorts a laugh, immediately covering her mouth with her hand.

“I hope he won’t run away this time.”

“Don’t he dare.”

“You want me to start first?” Jennie asked cheekily.

Jaebum bit his lips then nods. Jackson then moves the mic to Jennie.

Jennie takes a deep breath, her gummy smile hasn’t left her face.

“I used to hate rainy days. I really do.” Jennie starts. “It’s wet and damp and it’s muddy, windy and mouldy—it’s just the worst for me. But you came to my life on one rainy afternoon. I wasn’t having the best afternoon, thanks to my best friend.”

Jisoo laughs in guilt and so did Jennie.

“You came in just like that.” Jennie continues, focus back on Jaebum. “Cold and mysterious but also comforting at the same time. You’re more than the downpour. You’re the warm blanket, the hot chocolate, the hugs that come when it rains. I started liking the rain since then.”

Jennie starts tearing up again. “But rain isn’t always calm. There are storms and when it rains, it pours. It rained a lot when I first came in Milan and that’s when I started hating the rain again because it always reminded me of you, of us. But in the end, it still made me calm because _it is_ what reminded me of you, of us.”

“I thought I fell in love with the rain when I met you. But I was wrong.” Jennie flashes a soft smile. “It’s you I fell in love with in that rainy afternoon.”

By this time, Jennie’s mother is already in tears. Her father gently puts his arm around her mother’s shoulder, comforting her. Across the table, Jaebum’s mother reaches for her hand, hoping to comfort her too.

Jennie turns to Jackson and takes the one of the rings in the box. It’s a simple gold band which she noticed, only after taking it from the box, has her sound waves engraved on the inside. She then turned back to Jaebum and puts the ring on his ring finger.

“There’s going to be more storms, I’m sure.” She says. “But I promise to be your hot chocolate, your favorite blanket and hoodie on those rainy days. I promise to keep you warm in my embrace. I promise to love the rainy days but, most of all, I promise to love you more each day, be it be rainy or sunny; even if we’re time zones and weathers apart, I promise to love you, always.”

Their small crowd of friends and family give Jennie applause after concluding her speech and putting the ring successfully.

Jennie leans in, pulling Jaebum in for a hug. She pulls him by the neck while Jaebum wraps his arm on her waist. Jennie hugs her tighter, burying her head on the crook of his neck. Jaebum plants another kiss on her head just before Jennie gently pulls herself from the hug, her hands resting on his shoulder. She stares at him expectantly. Jaebum takes a deep breath.

“How do I top that?” He said, again earning a teary-eyed laughter from their guests.

He leans close to Jennie. “No, seriously, I don’t know how to do this.”

Jennie giggles. “Then, just sing me a song.”

It was a mindless suggestion, Jennie wasn’t actually asking him to sing but it ignites something in Jaebum, like a bulb switching above his head. He grins widely, the kind of grin that looks funny, making Jennie both nervous and excited.

Jaebum turned behind him, to Bambam and Youngjae.

“‘My bag.” He told them.

“Where’s my bag?” Jaebum asked. He remembers carelessly throwing it somewhere when he was changing a while ago.

Bambam and Youngjae turned to Yugyeom on the sound booth.

“Huh?” Yugyeom mumbles.

Jaebum turned to him. “My bag?”

“Your bag? Why?” Yugyeom asked.

Jaebum takes a deep breath, gathering patience. “Where is it?”

“Oh,” Yugyeom mumbles, getting the bag from below the sound booth. “Here.”

Jaebum lets go of Jennie for a while, walking to the sound booth to get something—his hard drive—from his bag and plug it in Yugyeom’s laptop. Jaebum is pretty organized in his files so it didn’t take long before he found the file he’s looking for. He instructed Yugyeom on what to do then he walks back to Jennie, taking her hand back in an instant.

On cue, Yugyeom played a song, some instrumental track then Jaebum takes the mic from Jackson.

“I’m bad at sappy speeches,” Jaebum says. “But I’m good at sappy songs.”

Jennie pursed her lips, her cheekbones form as she shyly keeps herself from smiling too much.

“I forgot when I composed this but I am sure I was thinking of you when I did.” Jaebum intertwines their fingers and he starts singing a few seconds into the track.

_I know when I see you I’m always fine_

_I know that my love is getting deeper_

_You who showed me many things_

_You who taught me deep love_

_If I’m together with you_

_I can feel this deep space like it’s your heart_

Jaebum’s voice is cool and soothing, making the words more beautiful than it is. It’s true that he’s bad at speeches and it’s true that he’s better at expressing through his music because everyone in the deck and Jennie, most of all, feels every emotion in every word and every note.

_When I hug you, I become relaxed_

_It feels like I’m hugging the universe_

_It feels like a dream_

_That you are next to me breathing_

_Make me drunk with your breath_

_Embrace me with your scent_

_Even if the world collapses, I want to hug you_

_Because you are the only one that makes me breathe_

_I won’t let you go_

_Take me to your embrace_

_I won’t let you go_

_If it’s you, I’d do everything_

Jennie is back in tears, crying harder this time. Jaebum lifts her hand and pulls her close as he continues singing.

_My forever sunrise_

_Sunshine above my head_

_An angel for me_

_Hold my hand and leave_

_If I’m together with you it’s all right_

_To me, everything it’s all right, it’s all right_

_An angel for me_

_Hold my hand and leave_

_I won’t let you go_

_Your heart to me_

_I won’t let you go_

_I want to fall in it_

Jaebum’s voice breaks just as he finishes the song, tearing up. He gives the mic back to Jackson in exchange of the ring. Jennie’s ring looks just like his, just a slimmer version and with his sound waves engraved on it. He turns back to Jennie, swiftly putting the ring on her finger. They stared at each other, eyes glistening with tears and hopeful future. Like puzzle pieces fitting together, they leaned in closer, sealing their promise of love with a soft, warm kiss.

Everyone harmoniously claps, with a few howls and squeals from Jackson, Bambam and Rosé, after the two kissed. Their mothers are both sobbing, grateful for the union of their children. It wasn’t as conventional as both families initially wanted but it is more than enough. For their friends, it is exactly what they wanted, laidback but fun. Thought the girls probably hoped to be bridesmaids and dress up for a day like this but and the guys would’ve love to check out other gusts but other than that, everything about this night is just as great as it can get. For Jaebum and Jennie, this is everything the ever wanted without actually thinking of it. Sure, they had more specific plans in mind, but there is something about a _literal_ shotgun wedding like this that makes it more special—that speaks so much of who they are as a couple. This is so much more than any other lavish, fairy tale-like wedding because this is their fairy tale.

Jinyoung was clapping hard, smile wide, cheering for his best friend when he noticed that Jisoo became uncharacteristically quiet behind him. He turned to her and found her in tears—so much tears that she can top Jennie and her mother in being the most emotional person tonight.

She’s wiping her tears and catching her breath with no use because she can’t just stop herself from crying. It’s too overwhelming for her to see her two best friends getting married. She has been with them every step of the way, she has seen them grow from an immature college sweethearts to the mature, but still struggling, partners that they are right now—she just can’t help but feel proud and happy that they are finally onto the next step of their relationship.

Jinyoung is just watching Jisoo collect herself, his smile turned softer.

Jisoo, realizing Jinyoung is watching her, stopped sniffing midway, flustered. She turned to Jinyoung and gave him a sharp look.

Jinyoung bursts into laughter.

“What’s funny?” Jisoo asked.

Jinyoung pursed his lips. “Nothing. You just look like a mother sending her daughter off to marriage.”

Jisoo pouts, her tears haven’t stopped falling. “Well, I might as well be.”

Jinyoung shakes his head. It feels a little bit different seeing Jisoo cry like this, when he’s sure she’s not crying of pain but of happiness. It strikes him then. The promise that he made—his promise to make her happy—he realized that he’s not only failing to keep his promise, worse, he’s doing the exact opposite. When he promised to make her happy, he started hurting her and in the process of trying to fulfil that promise, he just hurts her even more.

Jinyoung checks his pockets, looking for a handkerchief to wipe Jisoo’s tears, but he couldn’t find any, not even a piece of tissue or anything. So instead, he stretched his arm out.

“Huh?” Jisoo mumbles, looking at Jinyoung’s arm in front of her.

“I don’t have anything with for your tears.” Jinyoung says. “Use my shirt instead.”

“Very romantic.” Jisoo says, after snorting a laugh. She was obviously being sarcastic because she takes Jinyoung’s sleeve anyway, wiping her tears with the cuffs of his light blue shirt.

It was useless actually, but none of them cares. At this point, they’ll use any excuse to act carelessly together.

Jaebum and Jennie just released each other, but their arms wrapped firm on each other’s waist, when Jackson suddenly barged himself into them, wrapping them into a big hug.

“Congratulations, guys!” Jackson screamed.

In no less than a second, Bambam and Youngjae came in too, joining the hug. It didn’t take long before all of them—Lisa, Rose, Mark, Jisoo, Jinyoung and even Yugyeom—are all there suffocating the newlywed and screaming their best wishes in their ears while their parents are watching them from a far.

 

 

A few hours later, it’s pitch dark outside but the rooftop is still bright with lights and warm smiles. Jaebum and Jennie are just sending off their parents and the group are waving goodbye as they exit the roof deck. They toned down a bit with drinking with the parents around and now, they can finally drink ‘til they drop.

Yugyeom changed the mellow music playing to some RnB album from Jaebum’s hard drive. He has been itching to play through Jaebum’s music selection since he saw it earlier. Upon hearing a song he doesn’t even recognize, Jackson quickly stands from his seat and drags Rosé along inviting him to dance. Rosé didn’t hesitate and moved along. Youngjae started singing along with the song while Bambam and Lisa joined the two in dancing.

Mark is simply watching them, bursting into laughter at Bambam and Jackson’s weird and crazy dance moves. Eventually, he stands and joins the group at being crazy, leaving Jinyoung and Jisoo on either ends of the table.

Jisoo was laughing, when she suddenly turned and found Jinyoung calmly laughing. He was laughing so hard that he’s leaning on the table with one arm, the other covering his mouth, and his roaring laughter is almost harmonious with the music. Jisoo didn’t even notice she’s smiling fondly at him until he turned to her, his laughter subsides and he’s left with a wrinkly eye smile.

Jisoo quickly looks away, flustered, reaching for the wine in front of her then taking a sip from it. Embarrassed, she stands from the table then walks to roof deck’s ledge.

Jinyoung turned back to watch his friends, thinking if he should follow Jisoo—which, of course, he did.

He walks to where Jisoo is and leans his back beside her.

They were quiet for a while. Jisoo is mindlessly scrolling through her phone while Jinyoung is watching their friends from a far, half paying attention. Neither of them wants to say a word, afraid to mess up the temporary peace that they have. But they can only delay for long. It is getting childish and one of them has to speak.

“I know this isn’t the right time. You probably didn’t want to hear this.” Jinyoung suddenly mumbles. “But you deserve to hear this.”

Jisoo takes a sip of her wine, not saying anything and letting Jinyoung to continue.

“Going to New York without a word is a harsh decision, I’m only realizing now.” Jinyoung says. “But I didn’t care about that then. All I know is that I needed to go back to end things, to say goodbye to Jessica—properly.”

It feels weird hearing Jinyoung say her name now. It sounded light than it used to, there is less burden and pain.

“All I know is I have to do the right thing.” Jinyoung continues. “I didn’t know that I’m hurting you in the process. If I had known, I’d drop everything to make you feel better. Because that is all that matters to me.”

Jinyoung turned to Jisoo, his arm resting on the ledge now. “I mean it. I mean everything. I mean it when I said that I want to make you happy.”

Jisoo looks down, she didn’t want Jinyoung to see her crying.

“I know I’ve hurt you big time and everything I say will sound like excuse but I hope you give me that one chance. I don’t deserve it but let me dare to ask for one more chance.” Jinyoung’s voice stutters as fear consume him—fear that Jisoo might not want him anymore; that she may not give that chance he’s asking for.

Then suddenly, Jisoo’s phone started ringing, surprising and making the both of them glance at the phone immediately. Jisoo has an incoming call from Woohyun.

Jisoo felt her stomach churn. The timing is just unbelievably good.

Jinyoung smiles, a soft yet painful smile. “But if a second chance is too much to ask and avoiding me is what’s going to make you happy, then it’s more than enough for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jinji still on their bullshit ksjgsfkgjhf IM SO SORRY :( i know you guys expected something--I mean wants--something else but,,, we can't have it for now oof but hey! we got a jenbum wedding! And jinji were on a truce all throughout the chapter!!!
> 
> lol i know you're hating me now but patience is a virtue guys! 
> 
> again, your thoughts help me in writing the next chapters so drop some comment if you can ^^
> 
> thank you <3


	15. Whisper

“You guys are a mess.” Youngjae exhales, hands on his waist, exhausted after carrying Rosé down to the basement parking from Jaebum and Jennie’s—now the Im’s—apartment.

It’s not even midnight but Mark, Youngjae and Jinyoung had to carry Bambam, Rosé and Jackson, respectively, because they are all knocked out drunk. Meanwhile, Lisa and Jisoo helped in dragging Yugyeom because he is just too exhausted to function after throwing up twice from drinking and eating too much. Jennie was left at the apartment to tend to her drunk husband—on their wedding night.

The car assignment just happened naturally. Jinyoung has to take care of his roommates of course, so Yugyeom and Jackson are in his car. Mark, since he’s already carrying Bambam, was obliged to bring him home, along with Lisa who’s asking for a free ride. Jisoo was the one who called Rosé’s sister so it’s just right that she’ll bring her home along with Youngjae.

Jisoo sighs heavily. “This is getting exhausting, guys. Can we, like, drink responsibly like adults instead of acting like we’re always in some college party?”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re just saying that because you’re sober now but half of the time you’re doing shit because you’re too drunk.” Mark mumbles, earning him a slap from Jisoo which he just laughed off.

“Like randomly spilling other people’s secrets.” Jinyoung butts in. Mark turned to him, giving him an approval grin but Jisoo just rolled her eyes.

“Let’s go guys. We still have work tomorrow.” Lisa groaned, pulling Mark to his car and getting on the back seat where Bambam is, making sure he won’t throw up or anything. “Bye!”

“See you tomorrow.” Mark mumbles, following Lisa. “Drive safe.”

“Yeah, you too.” Jisoo waves then he turned to Youngjae. “Come on. Rosé’s place is quite a long ride.”

“Okay, want me to drive? I’m still more sober than you.” Youngjae offered.

“Pfft.” Jisoo scoffs. “I got this.”

Youngjae shrugs. “Bye, Jinyoung. Drive safe!”

“Wait, are you two going to be fine?” Jinyoung asked.

Youngjae shot Jisoo a look, knowing exactly what the other guy meant and letting Jisoo answer it.

“Yeah, it’s fine. His place is literally two blocks from mine. Uh—bye.” Jisoo says awkwardly before turning back on Jinyoung then walking straight to her car.

Youngjae pursed his lips and looked at Jinyoung awkwardly. “Yeah, don’t worry. I’m harmless. See you!”

 

 

The trip to Rosé’s house isn’t quite long but her sister insisted that Jisoo and Youngjae drink some tea first before leaving. After staying there for a bit, they went home and Jisoo dropped Youngjae home before she can finally go to her bed—at about two in the morning.

Jisoo didn’t even bother changing when she got home. She just washed her face then went straight to slump herself on her bed. It has been a crazy day. She’s tired, so tired that she feels her legs are numb for running errands all day long and it’s just Monday. But there is something about being exhausted doing something exciting and special like her best friends getting married that makes this tiredness feel quite good actually.

She tried to think of that—just that. But she can’t. Her mind is hard to fool and it’s not helping that her heart is up to worrying too. She didn’t know how to react, didn’t know how to respond with what Jinyoung told her earlier. All she could do is to answer it with silence. But she’s sure she felt something. Was it relief? Assurance? Happiness? She can’t tell—she doesn’t want to face it yet. She doesn’t even know why she’s acting like this. Is it anger? Annoyance? Pride? She wishes she knew. Right now, she’s just numb (and maybe a little dumb) over everything.

She decided to sleep it off. Maybe she’s just tired. Maybe tomorrow, she can deal with this like an actual mature and intelligent woman that she is.

 

 

Jisoo woke up with no solution but more problems though. She woke up to two missed calls and three unread messages from Woohyun. One was hi, the other one was an are you there—these two were about a minute a part so it’s might as well be considered to be one message anyway—and the third was a you’re probably busy. sorry, good night :). The emoji makes it worse; sky rocketing Jisoo’s anxiety.

She almost forgot about Woohyun. Now, there are two of them creating a chaos in her mind with only one space left in her heart. She knows exactly who belongs to that space, the one who didn’t even leave. But how, just how can she bring herself to hurt Woohyun?

She has been mindlessly staring at her desktop monitor since she arrived in the HQ, half paying attention to the Trendsetter episode she’s reviewing, when Lisa approached her asking about some Jinji matter that Jaebum should know but he took a leave today so Lisa is bugging Jisoo.

“So, do you think we should shoot at the studio or we can shoot at your place?” Lisa asked, for the third time, after explaining the episode twice but Jisoo is still out of focus.

Lisa just continues with her questions but Jisoo is barely paying attention.

“Aren’t you going to answer that?”

“Oh, it’s Woohyun.”

“You got four missed calls from him?”

“And three unopened messages?”

“Are you ghosting him?”

Jisoo suddenly turns to Lisa, flushed.

“Ghosting? No! Why would I—I’m not ghosting anyone!” Jisoo denied.

Lisa couldn’t help but chuckle. She takes Jisoo’s phone and hand it to her then she sits on top of Jisoo’s desk.

“Just because you and Jinyoung are now okay, doesn’t mean you can just ghost Woohyun.” Lisa says.

“We are not okay.” Jisoo admits, her voice trailing off at the end.

“What?” Lisa turns to Jisoo, surprised. “But last night… you seem okay? You were even having a little moment at the corner.”

Jisoo frowns then dips her head on her desk.

Lisa sighs. Her shoulders dropped.

“Look, Jisoo, I honestly don’t understand what’s going.” Lisa started. “Actually, after what I heard the other day—hearing it for the first time—I felt bad. You didn’t even tell me about it. We’re always working together and I didn’t even notice what’s going on.”

Jisoo stretches her back and turned to Lisa. “Sorry.”

“But I mean, it’s not like it isn’t obvious. I work with you two all the time and your actions can’t lie. Trust what you feel and talk about it.” Lisa says.

This isn’t the first time that Jisoo is receiving a heartfelt talk from Lisa, she gets that a lot from her junior in fact. But this is actually the first time that she’s getting a relationship talk from Lisa. She thought that she’s too sweet to know this stuff but, turns out, she’s more mature about this matter than Jisoo.

“Remember what the granny said the other day? Never fail to express what you truly feel. Communication is key—in both actions and words. Talk to him.” Lisa looks at Jisoo with assuring eyes. “And to Woohyun too, if you really don’t want to end up ghosting him.”

Jisoo frowns.

“Hey, keep your head high.” Lisa says, lifting Jisoo’s chin in hopes of cheering her up. “It’s not so bad of a problem. You have two guys falling for you! That’s some pretty woman problem right there!”

Jisoo groans, hitting Lisa with her pen. “Very helpful.”

Lisa giggles. “What?

“Hey, Lisa!” Bambam calls. “What is door in Thai again?”

Lisa’s face dramatically changed. “What?”

“What is door in Thai?” Bambam nonchalantly replies.

Jisoo and Lisa exchanged looks of disbelief.

“Did you actually forget your native language? Your Thai!” Lisa says as she turns and walks to Bambam.

Jisoo shakes her head, laughing at the two. Her laughter subsides when she glances at her phone lighting up from receiving another message from Woohyun. If someone else seesbher phone right now, it will look like Woohyun is being some creepy dude bombarding her with calls and messages but in reality, two of the four calls were from last night, the other one is from this morning and the last one didn’t even ring for two seconds, he probably just pressed it by mistake. As for the three unopened messages, it’s just a good morning, a have a good day and a reaction sticker. He doesn’t look like it, but Woohyun is actually the type to be cute in texting. He would do well in dating apps.

Jisoo took her phone and opened Woohyun’s texts for the first time since last night. The last text simply says hey. She thought about what to reply but couldn’t come up with any so she dialled his number and calls him instead.

Woohyun didn’t pick up the call though. He is probably at work too and Jisoo decided she’ll just call him again later. Or maybe he will but for now, she puts her phone down and decides to focus on work.

It was about an hour later after Jisoo put down her phone when it started ringing again. Woohyun is calling her back.

“Hey,” Jisoo says, answering.

“Hey! Sorry I couldn’t answer your call.” Woohyun apologized. “I’m in the middle of a hearing.”

“Oh no, sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you.” Jisoo says, feeling bad that the only time she called back, he has to be in the middle of something important.

“It’s okay, we’re on recess.” Woohyun replied.

“Sorry, I couldn’t answer your calls and texts... I just got really busy.” Jisoo explains.

Woohyun chuckles softly, giving Jisoo a slight tickle in her stomach. “We can’t even answer each other’s call, how is this gonna work?”

The tickle in Jisoo’s stomach turn into some sinking feeling in her gut. She couldn’t say anything.

“Sorry. Was that too blunt?” Woohyun mumbles.

“No, I just... how’s the hearing going?” Jisoo shifts the subject. She can feel Woohyun smirking from the other line.

“It’s...” Woohyun hesitates before continuing. “Not so good but we’re doing our best.”

“Oh,” Jisoo sounds apologetic.

“Hey, don’t you believe in me?” Woohyun asked cheekily.

Jisoo got flustered. “I don’t know. I’m not really impressed with someone who uses his power to check personal records.”

Woohyun chuckles, embarrassed. “That was one time.”

Jisoo laughs along. It’s really light talking to Woohyun. Amidst his obvious intentions, they can still talk to each other like the real friends that they are.

“Anyway, I just wanna ask why you were calling.” Jisoo asks. “It seems important.”

Woohyun takes a deep breath. “Well, it is.”

Jisoo smiled. “Shoot it.”

There was a brief moment of silence before Woohyun speaks.

“Are you free tonight?” He asked.

The sink in Jisoo’s stomach comes back. The date. Of course. She almost forgot about that. But she has made up her mind already and end things—that hasn’t even started—with Woohyun. Not that she’s thinking of doing that over the phone, she’d like to meet up with him and talk about it but a date is not what’s on her mind.

“You still there?” Woohyun asked after noticing that Jisoo isn’t answering. “Can we go out for dinner tonight?”

“Uh... I...” Jisoo stutters, thinking. Can she really dump him on a date?

“Yeah, yeah, I’m free.” She blurts out. “Sure. Dinner.”

“Great!” Woohyun cheers, not bothering to hide his excitement. “I’ll pick you up at home at seven? Is that too early?”

Jisoo looks over her desk. She doesn’t have much to do but seven is a bit early for her. She can’t go on a date on her work clothes, especially when the dinner sounds formal.

“How about seven-thirty?” Jisoo suggests.

“No problem. Seven-thirty it is.” Woohyun agreed.

“Mr. Kang!” Someone called from the other line.

“Looks like recess is over.” Jisoo says.

“Yeah. They’re calling me in.” Woohyun replied.

“Oh, well, good luck!” Jisoo cheered.

“I’ll show you how good my record is.” Woohyun dares.

Jisoo giggles. “Okay. Tell me about it later.”

“See you.”

“See you.”

Jisoo puts the phone down, taking a deep breath. It’s just so easy talking to Woohyun that it makes it hard to turn him down and now, Jisoo has to do that on a date. Cruel.

 

 

It’s one of the rare times that Jisoo gets off work right on the dot at six. Well, she has a real date to prepare for, she needs to go home as soon as she can. So she dragged Lisa from her desk to help. Not that she’s looking forward to it so much. She jusf didn’t want to over prepare and look like she’s giving Woohyun false hope but she didn’t want to look like its nothing either—she has to look something neutral. Apparently, she can’t do that alone.

“Wait, hold on.” Lisa holds a finger up as they enter the elevator. “Was I reading it wrong all along?”

“What?” Jisoo asked, settling inside the elevator. They are the last ones to enter the lift, standing a step away from the elevator doors.

“All those speech I made earlier, was my point not clear?” Lisa replied just as the elevator starts going down.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I mean, I thought it’s Jinyoung but it’s actually Woohyun that you like?”

“No! It’s Jinyoung!”

Jisoo’s answer came out a little bit loud, almost as a cry, just as the elevator doors open in the twenty-second floor, revealing a confused Jinyoung, after hearing his name, standing in front of them.

“Hi?” Jinyoung greets, puzzled after hearing his name.

“Fuck.” Jisoo whispers to herself before she greets louder. “Hi.”

Lisa purses her lips, trying so hard to suppress laughter.

“Hi, Jinyoung.” Lisa greets. She was about to step away from Jisoo to give her spot to Jinyoung but Jisoo pulls her close, leaving the other side free for Jinyoung.

“Hi.” Jinyoung awkwardly reponds as he steps inside the elevator.

The elevator door closes and three of them are greeted by their reflection on the metal doors—Jisoo looking flushed, Jinyoung confused and Lisa trying so hard not to burst into laughter.

“So, Jinyoung, don’t you have friends?” Lisa suddenly asked after successfully keeping her laughter in.

“Huh?” Jinyoung mumbles, caught off guard.

“I mean, look, you’re going home alone.” Lisa explains.

“Oh, yeah. Uhm,” Jinyoung looks around, as if checking, before whispering. “People at News think I’m the Creatives’ spy so they don’t like me that much.”

“That’s bullying!” Jisoo can’t help butting in.

Lisa and Jinyoung turned to her, almost comically, which made Jisoo blush even more.

Jisoo swallows. “Sorry.”

Lisa made a face while Jinyoung turns ahead, grinning with his eye crinkles showing.

They were quiet then for the whole elevator trip, Lisa chose to shut her mouth to save her friend any more embarrassment in the future. Just a few minutes later, they reached the basement parking.

Jinyoung stretches his hand out, stopping the elevator doors from closing, letting the girls step out first then he follows.

“So, I’m parked this way.” Jinyoung said, pointing to the left.

Lisa turned to Jisoo.

“Yeah, we’re just around here.” Jisoo says. 

Jinyoung pursed his lips, his dimple showing, as he nods.

Jisoo tugs Lisa’s arm.

“Yeah, we’ll go ahead.” Lisa says. “See you tomorrow!”

“Oh, yeah. Bye.” Jinyoung says then he turned to Jisoo. “Bye, Jisoo.”

Jisoo’s grip on Lisa’s arm gets tighter.

“B-bye.” She says.

The two girls turned around first. Jinyoung waited for them to get into Jisoo’s car before walking to his.

“Do you really have to make it that awkward?” Lisa asked, moving her arm from Jisoo’s grip to link hers in.

“I wasn’t awkward!” Jisoo denied.

“Yeah, right.” Lisa makes a face. “If the elevator only opened a second earlier, you would’ve kissed in that same elevator.”

Jisoo slaps her in the arm.

“Ouch!” Lisa protests. “All I’m saying is that, this whole mess would’ve been solved by now.”

“And what? Leave Woohyun hanging?” Jisoo asked.

“Oh, yeah. The date.” Lisa mumbles. “What’s your plan? Break his heart on a date night?”

Jisoo sighs. “Does that sound so bad? Should I do it some other time?”

“Cruel.” Lisa replied. “But it’s going to hurt either way so, might as well just do it as soon as you can.”

 

***

 

“This is it?” Jisoo asked after Woohyun pulls over in front of what seems to be a closed restaurant.

“Yup.” Woohyun replied, smile wide, as he turns off the engine and removes his seatbelt.

He then gets off the car to get Jisoo’s door as she removes her seatbelt.

“Looks like it’s closed though.” Jisoo says as she steps out of the vehicle. “It doesn’t even look that it has been opened for business before.”

“Is it?” Woohyun asks innocently, turning ahead before walking closer to the establishment’s door.

He tried pushing the door but it won’t open, the door is locked and half of the lights inside are off. The restaurant is closed.

“How do we get in?” Woohyun turned to Jisoo.

“What do you mean? We should leave and go to another restaurant.” Jisoo said, confused as to why Woohyun is insisting to get inside a closed restaurant.

Woohyun’s eyebrows furrow, like he’s thinking deeply, as he takes his phone from his back pocket, looking around. He dialled a number then goes back to glancing around.

“Who are you calling?” Jisoo asked.

Just then, they hear someone call, “Mr. Kang!”

Woohyun and Jisoo immediately turn to where the voice is coming from. They see a woman running towards them.

“Mr. Kang?” The woman asked, this time sounding more unsure, stopping a couple of steps away.

“Yerin?” Woohyun replied, also unsure.

The woman’s face lights up before she bows.

“Hi! Yes, it’s me, Yerin.” She greets. “She is…?”

She then turns to Jisoo whose eyes turned wider in puzzle.

“Jisoo.” Woohyun replies with a cheeky smile. “This is Jisoo.”

Yerin bowed at Jisoo. “Hi! Nice to meet you, Miss Jisoo. I’m Lee Yerin, the manager of this place.”

Yerin reaches out her hand and Jisoo takes it awkwardly as she bows. She’s still confused but she isn’t a snob.

“H-hi.” Jisoo awkwardly greets.

They released each other’s hand turning to Woohyun afterwards—Yerin walks past him while Jisoo is giving him a questioning look.

“Did you wait long?” Yerin asks as she reaches for the establishment’s door, unlocking it. “Sorry, I just went out for a bit.”

“No, it’s okay. We just got here.” Woohyun assures.

“Really?” Yerin says after unlocking the door successfully. “Great, get in.” She said leading the way.

Woohyun turned to Jisoo. “Ready?”

“What is going on?” Jisoo asked, refusing to move without getting grasp of what’s going on.

“You said you’re making me noodles. But I thought you won’t be comfortable having me around in your house and won’t like it to be at my house either so here’s a compromise.” Woohyun explained.

Jisoo’s eyes widens then she blinks. “Compromise?”

Woohyun smiled cheekily. “I asked a friend for a favor. She owns this restaurant and I asked if we can use the kitchen for a night because you’ll cook for me.”

“And she agreed?”

“She’s more than excited to know I’m finally going out on dates.”

“Whoa.” Jisoo exhales. “What a good friend.”

Woohyun chuckles. Jisoo finally follows Woohyun and they enter the restaurant.

“But Woohyun, isn’t this too much?” Jisoo pauses.

“I’m putting my best foot forward for my chance.” Woohyun turns to her then winks.

Jisoo felt that tingle in her stomach again. Woohyun is beautiful. He is one of those guys that are just effortlessly handsome and charming without even trying. And tonight, when he’s in a dress shirt and dark jeans with his hair brushed up showing his forehead, he’s even more exemplary good looking. Okay, maybe with that, he isn’t totally effortless but for sure he can make any girl—some guys, even—weak on their knees with his charm. Jisoo suddenly worries if her cream crop top and maroon high waisted skirt combo can keep up with Woohyun’s celebrity look.

Jisoo shakes her head, leading the way inside restaurant with Woohyun quickly following a step behind. The restaurant looks great, perfect for a brunch or cozy dinner. There is a kitchen in the middle where people can watch the chefs cook, just like in Hell’s Kitchen, but the seats are wooden and less formal. This is exactly how Jisoo would want her restaurant be in case she pursues that path.

“The fridge is all loaded up and all the tools you’ll need is there.” Yerin explains. “If you need anything, I’ll just be in the counter and you can call me anytime.”

She nods then walks away to leave the two.

“So, here’s your apron,” Woohyun says handing a black apron to Jisoo. “Chef.”

Jisoo couldn’t help but break into a wide smile. She takes the apron and puts it to herself while Woohyun reaches for another apron and puts it on.

“I’ll be your assistant for tonight.” He says.

“Okay.” Jisoo exhales. “What do you like for dinner?”

“Your dad’s noodles.” Woohyun answered with no hesitation.

Jisoo shakes her head, wagging her index finger. “The menu for tonight is the noodle girl’s noodles.”

 

“By the way, how are your parents?” Woohyun asked. Jisoo is just finishing up her noodles while Woohyun readies their table. “Do they have a new restaurant?”

Jisoo smiles weakly as she puts the noodles in their bowls.

“They got divorced.” Jisoo mumbles.

“Oh, sorry.” Woohyun feels bad.

“It’s okay. It’s a long time ago.” Jisoo explains, walking to their table with bowls in hand. She also prepared a bowl for Yerin.

Woohyun immediately pulls out Jisoo’s chair when she got there.

“Thank you.” She says, taking a seat after putting down the bowls. “Anyway, it’s fine. Luckily, it wasn’t an ugly breakup. They’re pretty much in good terms right now.”

“That’s good to hear.” Woohyun said.

“Go on. Try it.” Jisoo says, changing the subject. She didn’t feel like talking about her parents right now.

Woohyun smiled excitedly before taking his chopsticks and taking his first bite.

“So how was it?” Jisoo asked even though Woohyun hasn’t even finished his first bite.

Woohyun sways his head. “Good.”

“Good?” Jisoo echoes. “I literally came up with that wonderful recipe just now and it’s just good? Whoa. Thanks for boosting my confidence.” She says, obviously a joke complete with overdramatic sulky moves.

Woohyun laughs. “It’s great. Seriously, it’s great. Better than your dad’s.”

Jisoo laughs, shaking her head. “You think I’ll believe that now?”

Woohyun’s laugh got louder. “Try it on your own.”

Jisoo does as told and takes her first bite.

“Oh, it actually tastes good!” She exclaims, eyes wide. “I didn’t know it’ll turn this good.”

Woohyun smiled sweetly.

“Did you know that I never really worked in a restaurant kitchen?” Jisoo mumbles mid-meal. “I’ve graduated culinary and did internship but after graduating, I never really practiced cooking in an actual restaurant.”

“This is the first time. Well, it’s not actually a restaurant but it’s technically a restaurant kitchen.” She said with a chuckle. “I almost forgot how to work in a kitchen like this.”

“Well, I think you did great.” Woohyun said. “And I’m pretty sure you’ll do great too if you’ll work in a real restaurant.”

Jisoo smiled softly; she turned down to her bowl to hide her too-soft smile.

“But hey, what you’re doing now with Post It is even better.” Woohyun adds.

Jisoo smirks then she looks up to Woohyun. “You mean fooling people? Lying to them?”

Woohyun shakes his head. “No. I meant making them happy. Do you know how many people you can make happy just by watching your videos? Obviously, I can’t tell you the figures,” he chuckles midway and so did Jisoo. “But I’m pretty sure there’s a lot of them.”

Jisoo’s smile turned warmer. “Thank you.”

The night grew deeper and so did their conversation. Woohyun is a good guy—a good person. He says things not because he knows it’s the right thing to say but because he means it. He’s innocent and pure. He’s real to his feelings and is not afraid to be vocal about it. Jisoo felt a churn in her stomach. It’s getting harder and harder to break his heart with every minute that passes.

 

 

Woohyun pulls over in front of Jisoo’s apartment building. He turns off the engine and watches Jisoo through the rear view mirror. She’s staring ahead, biting her lips. Woohyun breaks into a soft smile. He can’t help but fall in love with her deeper and deeper even just from the little things.

Jisoo suddenly turns to him. “Do you want to go for a walk?”

Though a little bit startled, Woohyun melts into a smile. “Sure.”

Jisoo removes her seatbelt then gets off the car without even waiting for Woohyun to open it for her. Woohyun just shakes his head and follows Jisoo out. They walk away from the apartment, towards the nearby park.

Jisoo’s palms are cold and sweating. She doesn’t know what to do. The entire trip back, all she has in mind is how is she going to turn Woohyun down without breaking his heart, which is just unbarely impossible.

“You know we can walk all around Seoul, all night ‘til the sun shines but it will still hurt when you dump me.” Woohyun suddenly mumbles, looking up at the sky.

Jisoo felt knots in her stomach and her heart sinks.

Woohyun turned to her with a smile but Jisoo has her lips upside down.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Woohyun assures, continues walking ahead. “It’s not like it’s the first time you rejected me.”

“What?! I didn—I never!” Jisoo panics, suddenly distracted from the current situation, immediately keeping up with his pace.

Woohyun laughs. “You don’t remember. The last time we saw each other, on Sohee’s birthday, I told you that I like you.”

“No.” Jisoo denies. “That did not happen.”

“Oh it did.” Woohyun nods. “But you didn’t believe me and even told me that Sohee has a crush on me.”

Jisoo turned pale. “I didn’t know you were serious!”

“Well, I didnt know that I was too.” Woohyun admitted. “So I believed you and confessed to Sohee instead and told her we should date. I know that sounds so bad but Sohee said yes and we did date for a while.”

“Oh my gosh. You and Sohee?”

Woohyun nods. “For about six years or more, I think.”

“Six years?!”

“We actually just broke up about a year ago.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t know.” Jisoo apologized.

Woohyun shakes his heas. “It’s fine. We’re good, best friends. It’s not your fault. It’s nobody’s fault.”

“I mean, six years? And it started just because I told you she has a crush on you?” Jisoo confirms.

Woohyun takes a deep breath. “You see, that’s my point.”

“We dated when we’re really young. When I was in Japan—the LDR thing? We nailed it.It’s a wonder how we did but we did so well.” He turned back to the sky as they walk slower. “But when I came back to Korea, and we actually spent time together, that’s when we realized that we never really loved each other. We just happen to have kept the relationship for the sake of keeping it. There weren’t feelings—well, there was something platonic of course—but romantic love? That’s something we can’t have by forcing.”

Silence. Jisoo is dumbfounded. Again, Woohyun is here saying the right and wisest words even though it’s hurting him. She should be the one talking, apologizing and comforting but he’s doing that instead and making her feel better.

“That’s why it’s okay.” He continues, turning to Jisoo. “It’s okay that you don’t like me back. I can’t force you to get into a relationship if you don’t like me back. We’re not kids going through puberty anymore. We’re adults and with our age, relationships shouldn’t be some experiment. It should be taken seriously. It should be real and the real ones are the ones bind with love.”

Woohyun turns to Jisoo with the warmest, most bittersweet smile. He gently pats her head.

“Don’t feel bad. Yes. It’s a bit painful but I’m glad bumping into you again and I’m glad that this time I’m able to show you that I’m sincere. I hope you believe me this time.” Woohyun chuckles.

“I believe you.” Jisoo blurts out, meaning every word.

Woohyun puts his had down from her head, puts it on his pocket then smiles. “Then, it’s already a win for me.”

 

***

 

Jisoo was never good at ending relationships, whether it’s romantic, platonic or even professional, she always finds herself in a weird and awkward position whenever she part ways with someone. She’s always caught in between the goodbye and the see you again that she ends up not confused. It probably started when her family was broken. She was sure that it’s goodbye, things weren’t going to be back to what they used to be but there’s a part of her that knows (and hopes) that, even though things won’t magically come back to how they used to be, a day will come that everything will reach a compromise and it’ll be a little bit better. So she has never fully said goodbye, she’s just quietly hoping for the see you again.

Same goes with Woohyun this time. There’s no way that they’ll be back to being the friends that they used to be. It’s a bum how they just recently reunited and now they have to part ways again. Jisoo like him as a friend, obviously, and would love to keep him in her life but that’s impossible for now. She knows very well that fresh wounds can never be treated by the exact same thing that caused it. So she just hopes that the day will come when they can be both comfortable to being friends just like they used to be.

Jisoo tried to shy away from thinking about it but she can’t. She knows she’s stuck in that same awkward position again but it’s worse this time because she knows she has hurt him. There’s this tingling feeling in her head and in her chest that makes her feel bad for Woohyun which results to a couple of sleepless nights.

Still, sleepless nights won’t keep Jisoo from overworking herself, especially when work is the one thing that distracts her from her stressful personal life. So even if it’s a Friday night, here she is in her apartment together with the Jinji crew, preparing for another shoot.

Jisoo yawns as she checks her makeup on her mini vanity mirror.

“You sure you can still film?” Lisa asked walking towards Jisoo.

They just finished setting up tonight’s set, waiting for Jinyoung to arrive from work. They are filming another home-y episode for Jinji today that is why they’re at Jisoo’s place. This episode is the Couple Share Both Sides of their Love Story video. It’s a popular suggestion from fans and is also a trend among couple Youtubers, taking inspiration from a bigger online media company. Basically, Jinji will take turns sharing their love story while the other has earphones on, blasting some loud music so they won’t hear what the other is saying yet. To add a Post It touch, they will have a whisper game in the end. There wasn’t much of a challenge in the shoot—single camera setup, simple lights and just a couple of really loud pop songs—this is a basic production except for the fact that they have to come up with a whole sweet love story that isn’t real.

Lisa didn’t want to push through with the episode. She thinks it’s a risk. It might sound too scripted and will make the audience figure out that Jinyoung and Jisoo aren’t a real couple. But Jaebum insisted to do it. He’s back on his fairy godfather-matchmaker shit again. He’s getting tired of the two running away from each other that’s why he’s stepping in this time to force them to talk—just like what they did for him and Jennie; it’s payback time. Jaebum knows the two so well that he’s sure something will come out of this shoot, he just hopes it’s something good. For fuck’s sake.

“You look so tired.” Lisa adds as she sits beside Jisoo in the couch.

“Do I?” Jisoo frowned. “You think it will show in the camera?”

“Oh, it definitely will.” Lisa replied. “Hold on, let’s fix your makeup.”

Lisa stands from the couch to get her makeup kit from her bag then she walks back to Jisoo. Jisoo voluntary turns to Lisa, closing her eyes. Lisa started with her eyes, trying to brighten it up more.

“You sure you can do this?” Lisa asked.

“Yeah.” Jisoo mumbles. “It’s not like I’m not used to pulling all-nighters.”

“No, I mean this episode—will you two be comfortable filming this?” Lisa clarified.

“Oh.” Jisoo breathes, thinking for a while before answering. “Yeah, I think we can. Jaebum has decided to do this anyway. PD’s words are final.”

Lisa groans. “I don’t understand him. He’s being so insensitive right now. He’s so persistent in filming this episode as if he doesn’t know what’s going on.”

Jisoo smiles, her eyes still closed. “I think he knows exactly what he’s doing.”

The doorbell started ringing, startling Lisa a bit but Jisoo remained unfazed.

“Someone get the door, please. Thanks!” She cried.

She didn’t see who went and opened it but she heard the door opening a few seconds later.

“Huh? Isn’t this Jisoo’s apartment? Kim Jisoo?”

Jisoo heard an oddly familiar voice speak from outside.

“Mom?” She murmurs, eyebrows meeting in her forehead.

“But this is her unit. Did we get it wrong?”

It was another voice she shouldn’t be hearing right now but it’s perfectly clear.

“Dad?” Jisoo eyes pop wide open. She immediately runs to her door, almost knocking Lisa off because it cannot be happening that her parents are here.

But they are. They’re here in her apartment. For real. Together.

“Mom?! Dad?!” Jisoo screams upon getting in front of her door and seeing her parents! “Oh my gosh!”

She immediately throws herself at them, wrapping her arms around them, hugging them tight and making up for the years that they haven’t seen each other.

“What are you doing here?” Jisoo asked, releasing them.

“Yes, I miss you too, my daughter.” Her father, Minseok, teases her.

Jisoo playfully rolls her eyes. “Of course, I missed both of you, Dad. But I’m just—how did you—you’re together!”

“We wanted to surprise you.” Eunha, her mother, said.

Jisoo gave her look.

“Surprise visit, of course. You can’t be the only one surprising us.” Eunha said.

“Huh?” Jisoo mumbles.

Eunha gave her a look before turning to Jaebum who opened the door for them.

“Is this him? He looks different on screen.” Eunha extends her hand to Jaebum. “Nice to meet you, I’m Jisoo’s mother.”

Jaebum shoots Jisoo a confused smile before turning back to Eunha to shake her hand.

“Nice seeing you again, Mother.” Jaebum mumbles.

“Again?” Eunha turns to Jisoo.

“Your mother is upset that you didn’t even introduce your boyfriend to her—us.” Minseok whispers.

“Boyfriend?” Jisoo echoes before turning to her mother. “Mom, that’s Jaebum! Jennie’s boyfriend! How can you not recognize a regular costumer and my friend?”

“Oh, Jaebum!” Minseok exclaims, stepping close Jaebum and giving him hug. “It’s been a while! How have you been?”

Jaebum returns the hug. “I’ve been great, father.” Minseok releases him and Jaebum smiled at him warmly.

“Jaebum?” Eunha thinks. “Oh, Bbeom Bbeom!”

Jaebum scratches his head, remembering an old nickname. “Yes, Mother. I’m Jennie’s husband, actually.”

“What? Oh my—congratulations!” Eunha pulls Jaebum for a hug, hugging him tight then releasing him. “Wait, I thought you broke up?”

“Mom!” Jisoo called.

“What?” Eunha mumbles. “Anyway, so where’s your boyfriend?”

Eunha enters the apartment and looks around. Minseok follows inside while whispering side comments to Jisoo, like he always do.

“Is Jennie here? If she’s only here, it’ll be like those after-university afternoons when the three of you help out at the restaurant for free food.” He mumbles.

Jisoo smiles warmly. She has this warm, fuzzy feeling in her chest. It has been a while since the last time she saw her parents, more so the three of them together. The last time that they are together was when she moved in in this apartment, just a couple of weeks after their divorce. She can still remember how gloomy that day was. It was so awkward, the silence was unbearable and she has this sinking feeling in her heart that tells her she hates what was happening but couldn’t bring herself to beg her parents to stay together. But now, this scene right here, feels oddly familiar to her. Things have changed, big time, but it also feels like nothing has changed.

This is it. The compromise she has always been looking for. Here they are coming in terms with the fact that just because things didn’t work out like they’re supposed to, doesn’t mean that they can’t be happy anymore. It’s long overdue but Jisoo doesn’t care. This is enough for her. This is home for her.

Eunha then sees Lisa and Mark, who both bow at her politely greeting her

She points at Mark. “That’s not him either but I like him more already.”

Minseok sighs. “Your mom never changed.”

Jisoo rolls her eyes. “No, Mom.” She then walks to Mark and Lisa to introduce. “Guys, that’s my mom and dad. Mom, Dad, these are Lisa and Mark, they are my co-workers.”

“Oh! Nice to meet you!” Eunha excitedly walks to the two, giving them hugs. “This is the first time I’m meeting any of her co-workers.”

Minseok follows and takes the two’s hands for handshakes too. “Nice meeting you two.”

“Okay, so where is he?” Eunha turned to Jisoo.

“Did you really go here from—wherever you were—to meet him? Not because of me?” Jisoo asked.

“You’re secondary.” Eunha shrugged before breaking into a grin and walking to Jisoo. She then hugs her daughter, tight and warm. She would cry but didn’t like the idea of a young audience watching her so she kissed the top of Jisoo’s head. “I miss you, my baby.”

Jisoo smiles, in the arms of her mother, she felt like she’s back to being that twelve-year-old daughter that she was. “I missed you too, Mom.”

Beside them, Minseok is just watching the only two woman in his life. “I missed you two.”

Then, as if on cue, Jinyoung walks inside the room.

“Guys?” Jinyoung calls, but of course, no one answered. Everyone is preoccupied with the scene in front of them.

He walks a little bit further in after closing the door behind him. Jaebum was the first person he sees who is standing with his arms crossed, leaning on the kitchen top.

“Hey, where’s Jisoo? The door was open when I got in. Can you make sure you always close the door? It’s dangerous, especially when she’s alone here most of the time.” Jinyoung says, a little bit louder this time, while he removes his coat and bag. Eyes focused on Jaebum, oblivious of what’s going on in the other side of the room.

“Sorry, that was me. I didn’t close the door.” Minseok says, raising his hand up.

Jinyoung’s brows furrow, confused with the unfamiliar voice. Jaebum shaking his head is making him even more confused. Jinyoung slowly turned to the side and was greeted by the heartwarming sight in front of him—Jisoo is now hugging Minseok, both her arms are around his waist with her head leaning on his chest while Minseok has an arm around her daugher’s shoulder, and Eunha is standing next to them, one hand on Jisoo’s back.

Jinyoung has no idea what’s going on, who are these new people in front of him, but he has an urging feeling he has to be extra respectful and polite to them. So he, politely and slowly, bowed at them.

Eunha smiles widely. “This is him.”

Eunha walks to Jinyoung, extending a hand at him. “Hi. Jinyoung, right? Park Jinyoung?”

“Y-yes, Ma’am.” Jinyoung slowly takes her hand but instead of a handshake, Eunha pulls him into a hug.

“Finally! It’s nice to finally meet you.” Eunha says then he released him a bit, holding him in his arms. “Welcome to the fam—“

“Okay, Mom!” Jisoo calls, pulling Jinyoung away from her mom—because she thinks it’s disrespectful if she’s going to grab her mom.

“Your mom?!” Jinyoung turned to Jisoo, eyes wide, before turning back to Eunha. “Nice to meet you, Ma’am!”

“Oh, just call me mother.” Eunha corrected.

“He’s your father, right?” Jinyoung whispered to Jisoo before turning to Minseok and taking a few steps forward, bowing. “I’m very pleased to meet you, Sir, I am Park Jinyoung.”

Jisoo pulls Jinyoung back once he’s done with the introduction.

“Okay, okay,” Jisoo calls, hand still on Jinyoung’s arm. “Before we get ahead of ourselves, let us just get this one thing straight,”

Jisoo puts her hand down, off of him, and Jinyoung coughs.

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

 

 

“I did not raise you to be a liar!” Eunha exclaims, a couple of minutes later after Jisoo explained everything to them—thrice.

Jisoo makes a face. “I’m not a liar! And it was Jaebum’s idea!”

Jaebum turned pale, embarrassed. “It’s…work. Purely work.”

“Mom, I told you, I work in media,” Jisoo mumbles. “It’s not that pretty.”

There was silence. Jisoo’s parents can’t say anything anymore, a little bit disappointed that the one thing that they came here for actually meant nothing. Jisoo feels a little bit weird about it though. She loves them and she loves the fact that they’re here today, but it’s just a little bit too good to be through that they’re here just because of that.

Jisoo takes a deep breath. “Speaking of, we need to start working.”

“Start working?” Minseok echoed, glancing at his watch. “Perhaps you mean end work?”

Jisoo smiles. “No, Dad. We’re really just starting work.We just finished setup when you arrived.” She turned to Jaebum. “Can they stay and watch?”

Jaebum shrugged. “Sure. This one’s an easy shoot anyway.”

Jisoo turned back to her parents. “Mom, Dad, why don’t you go change or freshen up and stay for the shoot? Or you can just stay there and rest, if you want.”

“Look at this girl ordering her parents.” Eunha fake-complained, still a little bit disappointed. “Where can I put my bags?”

Jisoo shakes her head. “In my room, of course.”

Jinyoung then walks to Eunha then helps her with her bag.

“Let me get these for you, Ma’am.” He offers.

“Thank you.” Eunha smiles. “Please call me Mother. I don’t care about what my daughter says, I want you to be my son-in-law.”

Jinyoung blushed, too obvious that he’s flustered, then he takes the bags and walked with the older couple with their bags.

Jinyoung walks back out, a few moments later.

“You think they’re going to be okay there?” he asks, then in a whisper, “I thought they got divorced?”

“Yes,” Jisoo replied. “They got here together with no issues, they should be fine in there for a couple of minutes. Besides, I’m sure they’ll come out to watch anyway.”

Jinyoung shrugs.

“Okay, guys.” Jaebum calls. “Let’s start for real. Jisoo, Jinyoung, you know what to do.”

Both Jisoo and Jinyoung tensed, suddenly realizing the burden of this episode. Maybe her mother is right. Maybe they’re really a bunch of liars and here they are filming a whole episode based on nothing but lie—makeup stories about stuff that never really happened.

“You don’t have to make stories up.” Jaebum says, as if reading Jisoo’s mind. “Lisa and I tried to make the questions less specific. We’d like to focus on the feeling rather than the details. It’s okay to make mistakes too. It’s okay to laugh, stutter and all. You don’t really have to lie.Don’t be shitheads and just focus on the questions being asked. Just be true and real.”

Neither Jisoo nor Jinyoung knows how to react. They did notice what Jaebum is trying to do with this episode, but no one expected he’s going to be this eager and straightforward about it. No one knew that he’ll sacrifice an episode to help his friends fix their shit. It’s embarrasing for Jinyoung and Jisoo—that they are dealing with their issue this way, but for the most part, Jaebum is right.

Mark couldn’t help but break into laughter, earning a light slap from Lisa—who now understands Jaebum’s point, pulling Jisoo and Jinyoung off from their thoughts.

Jisoo exhaled deeply while Jinyoung straightned his back.

“Okay, let’s just get this over with.” She says, walking to her couch and sitting.

Jinyoung glanced at Jaebum, mouthing a thanks before turning to the couch and sitting next to Jisoo.

“We’re doing this alternately with Jisoo answering first and Jinyoung with the headphones, then the other answers.” Jaebum explains. “After answering everything, you’ll react watching the playback then we’ll do the whisper game.”

“Let’s do this.” Jinyoung whispers, as he turns to Jisoo, taking the headphones and wearing them.

“Rolling in three! Two!”

Jisoo takes a deep breath, looking into Jinyoung’s eyes.

“Just, say everything you want to say.” Jinyoung encouraged, turning to her and locking stares with her. “I’ll do the same.”

“One! Rolling!”

Lisa didn’t waste anymore time and starts with the questions off.

“Tell us how you felt when you first met each other.”

“I don’t know.” Jisoo takes a moment, thinking. She takes a deep breath, exhaling the tension away then eventually smiling. “It’s weird, actually. The first time I saw him, there’s just this weird thing about him. He felt oddly familiar that he just pulls me in. He was a stranger then but it felt like I’ve known him for a really long time before that.”

Jisoo concludes with a soft smile that makes Jinyoung both warm and nervous. Jisoo gabe him a thumbs up so he takes off the headphones and hands it to her.

“What was the question?” Jinyoung asked to which Jisoo replied with a shrug before putting the headphones.

“How did you feel when you first met each other?” Lisa repeats.

“Oh.” Jinyoung mumbles, blankly at first before melting into a wide smile remembering how they met. “Inviting. I first saw her at this coffee shop, we didn’t know each other at all, she was talking in the phone—totally in her own world that I shouldn’t care about but there is something about her that pulls me in. It’s not just curiosity. It’s like I’ve known her before and we needed some catching up to do.”

Jinyoung was smiling through his eyes that is making Jisoo nervous. There is something about knowing the question already and not having any idea what he’ll answer that mkes the experience more nervewracking.

“What are you saying?” Jisoo asked, voice too loud because of the music playing loud in the headphones.

Jinyoung chuckles, eyes wrinkling.

“You didn’t say that I was stalking you, right?” Jisoo asked again, voice still loud. “Because I didn’t!”

“Why do you sound guilty?” Jinyoung chuckles, only making Jisoo more confused.

“We’ll go ahead with the second question.” Lisa mumbles. “Jinyoung, you answer first.”

Jinyoung turned to Lisa. “Okay.” He replied.

“Huh? What? What did she say?” Jisoo asked, after seeing Jinyoung talk to Lisa.

Lisa and Jinyoung chuckle. Lisa simply pointed at Jinyoung, hoping Jisoo will understand. Jisoo turned to Jinyoung with a puzzled look.

“What do you like the most about your partner?” Lisa asked.

“Whoa. Uh, wow.” Jinyoung breathes, thinking. “Everything, I guess? It’s cheesy, I know.” He laughs. “But just… everything about her is something to love. Her smile, her laugh. All the random, intelligent stuff she says—she has a lot of things to say that just show how wise she is.”

Jinyoung’s voice turned more serious. “I love her passion to make people happy, her care for the people she loves.” He stares deep into Jisoo’s eyes, making her confused, tensed brows calm.

“I just love everything about her.” Jinyoung concludes with a soft smile.

They are just staring at each other for about a minute before Jisoo realized Jinyoung has finished answering.

“You’re done? Is it my turn now?” she asked.

Jinyoung nods with a smile.

“That looked so serious.” Jisoo mumbles as she removes the headphones and hands it to Jinyoung who reaches for it slowly.

“It is.” Jinyoung admits, looking down then winks at Jisoo when he looks up while putting on the headphones.

Lisa, sniffing, asks again. “What do you like most about him?”

“Oh. That’s hard.” Jisoo blurts out, earning a chuckle from Mark and Jaebum. Jisoo turns to them, giving them a look.

Jisoo turns back to Jinyoung, flushed. “I meant, it’s not easy to point out when there’s quite a lot.”

She pouts, confusing Jinyoung.

Jisoo takes a deep breath. “I like his, uh, smile. It’s sincere and genuine and warm. It’s contagious; it makes me feel happy too.” She stares at him and he can’t help but smile in return, the exact same smile that she’s talking about. She melts into a smile too. “It makes my cheeks hurt sometimes but I like it. It’s comforting in times that I need comfort.”

“They’re making me cry.” Lisa whispered to Jaebum.

Jaebum just makes a face, asking Lisa to continue.

Lisa pursed her lips, trying her best not to break down in tears. She’s realizing now how Jisoo and Jinyoung are literally in love with each other. It’s heartwarming and frustrating at the same time.

“Okay, next question.” Lisa said. “What will you miss the most about your partner?”

“Oh, you mean long term, right?” Jisoo turned to Lisa.

Jaebum and Lisa nod.

“Now, that’s a real tough one.” Jisoo thinks, then takes a deep breath. “I don’t know. What did I miss when—just him, I guess? Everything about him.” She turned to Jinyoung. “It’s funny how, even in a short period of time, he’s already been this his huge part of me that I cannot even think of losing him.”

Jisoo smiles. There’s a sudden realization flowing over her. “Yeah, maybe I can’t even afford to lose him at this point.”

Lisa grabs Jaebum’s arm, her grip tight.

“Are you done?” Jinyoung asked.

Jisoo has her smile still plastered on her face as she nods. “Yup.”

Jinyoung removes the headphones and hands it to Jisoo who put it back on immediately—they did everything with no words, nothing is heard except the sound of their breathings.

Jinyoung was looking calmly at Jisoo, waiting for Lisa to ask the question but she’s taking so long so he turned to them. She found Lisa in tears, her grip tight on Jaebum’s arm. Jinyoung’s eyes widen in surprise. When Jisoo noticed it, she turned to the crew’s direction too and couldn’t help but break into a smirk when she saw her friend crying; knowing very well that Lisa is crying because of her answer and finds it a bit absurd.

“Sorry, uh,” Lisa coughs. “What will you miss the most about your partner?”

It didn’t take long before the question makes sense to Jinyoung. He felt a sinking feeling in his chest and in his stomach. It’s like facing a nightmare, he feels some kind of fear in him that he can’t pathom. His eyes darkened and his whole body tensed.

Across him, worry paints across Jisoo’s face. Having known the question, she also knows how the it can affect Jinyoung—how the idea of losing someone can make an impact to him.

Jisoo slowly reaches for Jinyoung’s hand for comfort. He takes her hand, letting their fingers wander each other’s palms before interlacing them.

“All of her.” Jinyoung said certainly, looking down at their hands. “The question scares me big time. Just the thought of losing her scares the hell out of me. I’d yearn for everything. Her smile, her laugh, her touch—everything about her that completes me.”

Jinyoung looks up, tears falling down his face. It scared Jisoo. It sent daggers into her heart. She knows the question will hurt him but she didn’t expect that the idea of losing her will bring him to tears. It breaks her heart. Here he is in front him going through the same pain again.

She leans closer, reaches for Jinyoung’s face and wipes his tears away.

Jinyoung melts into a soft smile. “If I lose her, I’d probably lose myself too.”

By this time, Lisa has completely lost it. She’s in tears as if she’s watching a melodramatic film live in front of her. Mark walks to her with a bottle of water. There’s no way she can read the next question so Jaebum steps in, asking the last question himself—a question that wasn’t on their original list.

“Given a choice, will you keep this relationship?”

It took a while before the question sinks in Jinyoung’s head. A smirk forms in his face, making Jisoo smile too even though confused. Jinyoung turned to Jaebum, giving him a look saying that the answer is obvious but Jaebum simply shrugged.

Jinyoung turned back to Jisoo. Their fingers are naturally playing with each other’s hand. Jinyoung looked at her in the eyes and with no doubt, he answers, “Yes.”

Yes. Jisoo is not entirely an expert when it comes to lip reading but it’s such a simple word and Jinyoung’s lips moved so perfectly that it was easy to catch on.

“Yes?” Jisoo mumbles.

Jinyoung, smiling wide with eyes glistening in tears, nods.

“What was the question?” Jisoo asked.

Jinyoung didn’t answer and intead leans in to remove the headphones from Jisoo.

“Find out.” He whispers just before he puts the headphones on.

Jisoo turned to the crew with her eyebrows wrinkling, her hands involuntarily resuming its place on Jinyoung’s as she does. Her eyes widens seeing Lisa a sobbing mess but she couldn’t even react properly because Jaebum already dropped the question.

“Under different circumstances and given different choices,” Jaebum starts. “Will you keep this relationship?”

It’s gradually making sense to Jisoo; like the sun slowly rising at dawn, she’s seeing light as to what Jinyoung’s yes meant. She felt a warm, fuzzy feeling in her stomach. It’s more than just a tingle, it’s electrifying. It’s exciting and comforting at the same time—something only Jinyoung can make her feel.

Jisoo melts in a smile, her cheekbones moving up is making her tears fall. This is one unconventional way of getting their shit together but here they are one word away from leaving all the pain behind and facing what they truly feel; what truly matters.

“Will you keep this relationship?” Lisa, growing impatient, repeats the question.

Jisoo’s smile turned wider. She leans closer and lets go of Jinyoung’s hand only to take the headphones from his ear—defeating the purpose of this whole video—she doesn’t care anymore. For once, she wants to do this right. She’s can’t afford to get lost in translation anymore. She’s telling him what he needs to know—in both words and actions.

 

“Wh-what are you doing?” Jinyoung asked, having no idea what she has up in her sleeves.

Jisoo didn’t reply though. Instead, she rested her hands on Jinyoung’s shoulder after completely removing the headphones off his ear.

“I-is this your answer?” Jinyoung asked, nervously, making Jisoo giggle.

Jisoo leaned in even closer, completely closing the gap between them. She stares at him as she moves her arms to wrap around his neck. It didn’t take long before Jinyoung calms down and stares right back at her. Their eyes glistening with tears and filled with emotions, are talking to each other and saying words they fail to say aloud.

“So we’re keeping it?” Jinyoung asked again, a lot more confident this time.

Jisoo lets her lips reply with a kiss and Jinyoung is more than eager to reply. It is sweet and chaste—sincere.

Jisoo pulls back moments later, an embarrassed smile plastered on her face.

“Always.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY!! AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
> 
> Drop some comments or hit me on twt/cc to tell me what you think about this chapter ^^
> 
> Also, date count! We’re on date 19 now so based on the title and a little bit of math... you know what’s up
> 
> PS. This chapter is inspired by the Youtube series entitled [ Both ](https://youtu.be/ieEsCShC9PE) [ Sides ](https://youtu.be/tZorEXmcC7U) where couples share both sides of their love story. It’s really interesting and heartwarming, you should check it out!
> 
> Thank you! <3


	16. Surprises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Date count: 19/23

“CUT!”

Jisoo and Jinyoung were pulled from their own little world with her father’s screaming.

“Cut! Cut! Cut!” Minseok repeats before Eunha pulls him down. Eunha then turned to Mark. “I thought they’re not actually together?”

Jinyoung turned pale while Jisoo flushed—both in embarrassment. Kissing in front of their friends is one thing, but kissing in front of her parents is another. Jisoo covers her face with her hands, hoping that it will save her face. She even leaned closer to Jinyoung, burying her face on his shoulder, to which Jinyoung instinctively covers her head with his hand.

“Kill me now.” Jisoo groaned.

“Your father is going to kill me.” Jinyoung whispered back.

They burst into laughter making it worse for her parents.

“What the hell is going on?” Minseok is at rage. The last time he saw his daughter, she’s nothing but an innocent girl (at least for him) and now she’s being all touchy and kissing some guy that, allegedly, isn’t even her boyfriend?

“Hey, calm down.” Eunha told him. “It’s probably just for show. Jisoo is like an actress here, there is some scripted stuff, right?” This time, she turned to Jaebum for confirmation but instead found Lisa crying and got even more confused. “Why is she crying?”

Lisa quickly wipes her tears and sniffs. “I have a terrible cold.”

Jaebum stands up.

“Yeah, as far as I know, we’re still filming.” He says, turning to his two friends. His plan of letting them talk worked all too well now he has a footage of them kissing—something he doesn’t need for Jinji (they’re keeping a friendly, non-gross rating) and something he totally doesn’t need in his files.

Jinyoung and Jisoo turned away, avoiding their gazes.

Jaebum sighs. “Why don’t we take five?”

“Is he crazy? Now I have to talk to my parents.” Jisoo said.

“That’s something we really need to do.” Jinyoung replied.

Jisoo eyed him. “You’re on to that already? Easy boy.”

Jinyoung chuckles. “You need to explain it to them, at least. Your dad looks like he wants kill me now.”

Jisoo sighs lightly as she gets up from her couch, walking towards her parents. She has her lips pursed, embarrassed. Jinyoung is following a step behind her.

“Surprise!” Jisoo says when she reached them. “We’re now together, I think.”

Lisa couldn’t help but squeal from the background while Jaebum and Mark simply shakes their heads, with a smirk on.

“You young people are so—“

“Fun!” Eunha finishes Minseok’s sentence that all he can do is sigh. Eunha then turned to Jinyoung. “I knew it when I said I want you to be my son-in-law. Come on, let’s have a little chat.”

Eunha slings her arm onto Jinyoung’s and drag him to the kitchen, away from Jisoo and Minseok.

Jisoo watches them leave then slowly turns to her father, biting her lips.

“I’m sorry.” She apologized, voice soft. “You’re disappointed, right? You shouldn’t have seen that. I’m so ashamed right now—about that, about the whole concept of make-believe couple—about everything.”

Minseok sighs. “Come here.” He said, opening his arms and inviting Jisoo in.

Jisoo didn’t hesitate. She steps closer, completing the father-daughter embrace, burying her head on his shoulder. She can’t help to compare the embrace to Jinyoung’s from earlier. There is something aboutfather’s embrace that is welcoming and protecting, makes her feel safe like no other.

“I’m sorry your daughter has become like this.” Jisoo murmurs. “I couldn’t be a chef like you want me to be.”

“Sshhh. What are you talking about?” Minseok says, his voice is deep and soft; old and wise. “You’re doing great doing your thing. I watch all your videos, I let my neighbors watch them.”

“You do?” Jisoo asks, moving back a bit so she can see her father’s face.

Minseok nods. “It was a struggle, you know, with all the technology that is beyond my age. But Jaemin, the young kid nextdoor, taught me. I tell everyone in the neighborhood that you’re my daughter.”

“You always make me proud, Jisoo. In everything that you do because I know that you work hard for it.” He continues.

Jisoo tightens her hug, burying her face deeper in her father’s chest. It reminds her of when she was younger. She and her dad love messing with each other. Minseok loves to wake her up in the morning in the most annoying way—opening and closing her door, making sure to make a sound with the knob, and shout good morning princess. It always annoys the heck out of Jisoo but he will make it up to her by giving her extra servings of food for breakfast. In return, Jisoo will squeeze herself in the couch, pushing her father on one end, when he is watching the evening basketball just to annoy him so much. It ends up with Minseok tickling her until she gives up, laughing so hard that it makes her cry. She didn’t realize how much she missed her father and their thing until now that she’s back in his embrace.

She hugged him even tighter, catching up the years she missed him and the years they’ll spent away from family again.

Jisoo tears up so she dared to make it lighter. “Even with Jinji?”

Minseok tensed a bit, purely as a joke, before melting into a smile. “If you’re working hard and it makes you happy, then I couldn’t get any prouder. Besides, it’s not like I can stop you from growing. You’re a lady now, a woman and you’re supposed to date and fall in love.”

Jisoo shakes her head. “I’ll always be your little girl, Dad. Boys—they’re just boys but you’ll always be my first love.”

Minseok melts into a warm smile, a smile so warm it felt like the noodles he has always cooked for Jisoo, comforting.

“I know.” He whispered, planting a kiss on top of Jisoo’s head. “Thank you, my daughter.”

 

 

They wrapped up filming after another hour of hilarious whisper game where Jisoo is undeniably bad at. It was already late at night when the crew left, leaving Jisoo and her family alone. It’s too late to cook food so they ordered chinese food instead. It felt weird. Having lived on top of a restaurant for years, they are a family who always seek to have good and proper food. Not that they don’t ever go for unhealthy delivery food, but it was just so rare and that simple thing reminds Jisoo that they are not that family anymore.

The food just arrived. Jisoo and her mom are setting up the table while her father is at the door, paying for the food.

“The kid who delivered this was shocked seeing me. He thought there’s a new tenant.” Minseok says as he walks to the kitchen with two bowls of jajangmyeon, one jjampong, sweet and sour pork and mandus in hand.

“You should eat proper food.” He said, setting the food down the table. “You’re a chef and you don’t even cook food for yourself.”

Jisoo turned to her mom for help but she just shrugged. She turned back to her father. “I cook food for myself. It’s just that I get home really late sometimes and I’m too hungry to cook. Just like now.”

She said with a child-like smile hoping it could save her from her parents’ scolding but it obviously won’t work.

“Aren’t you working too much that you don’t even have time to eat proper food?” Eunha adds.

Jisoo sighs. So this is it what it feels like having her parents around.

“I’m eating well, Mom, Dad.” Jisoo assures.

“You don’t even have much side dishes in your fridge.” Eunha argued. “Maybe you should visit her more frequently and give her side dishes.”

“I should.” Minseok agreed.

“It’s okay. It really is. Jennie’s mom gives me lots of side dishes, I just happen to ran out of them now.” Jisoo explained. She watches her parents and found the slight guilt in their faces. “I know you feel bad that you can’t take care of me more, er, conventionally but I’m good. You can just let me Facetime you more often and I’ll be fine.”

Her parents were mummed, overwhelmed by how their daughter has grown into such maturity even without their direct guidance.

“Let’s dig in! I’m hungry.” Jisoo announces, pouncing on her bowl of jjajangmyeon. Eunha and Minseok exchange proud smiles before getting onto their food.

Eunha reaches for a piece of mandu and gave it to Jisoo.

“Oh, wait, hold on. I have a question,” Jisoo says, looking up from her bowl and holding her finger up. “I know the answer is no, but I just want to make sure.”

Her parents look at her expectantly.

“You’re not back together, are you?” Jisoo asked.

Minseok froze in his place mid-chewing while Eunha chokes the kimchi she just ate.

“Okay, not a bad shot to ask.” Jisoo said, burying her face back into her bowl before bursting into laughter.

Soon, both her parents are laughing too.

They spent the whole meal talking about everything they missed. Jisoo shares all her stories from working with Post It, shared the life of every single one of her friends but her favorite was telling them about Jennie and Jaebum’s dramatic love story over the recent years. It was like the after-school snacks they had at restaurant when Jisoo seemed like she can go on forever talking about her school in friends. It felt like she’s child again. Even for a while.

“Mom,” Jisoo softly calls as they clean the table. “I love that you’re here, I truly do. But why exactly are you here?”

“You don’t want me here?” Eunha asked back.

Jisoo’s shoulders dropped. “I clearly said a disclaimer, that is not what I meant.”

Minseok clears his throat as he stands up. “I’ll let you two talk.”

Jisoo turned to Eunha, looking confused and expectant.

Eunha shurgged. “I have an eighteen-hour layover in Seoul so I figured I’d drop by for a visit.”

“Eighteen-hour?” Jisoo echoed. “And you’re just here for a layover? You’re leaving, what? Tomorrow morning?”

“Tonight.” Eunha replied, ashamed. “I need to get to the airport three hours before my flight.”

“Wow.” Jisoo sighed heavily, defeated. “You didn’t even plan to be here. What if your layover is, like, three hours? It would’ve been better if you didn’t drop by.”

It was like pulling out a shard of glass in her own heart just to stab it on her mom’s heart. She didn’t mean to say that. Jisoo is a good daughter, the kind of good that speaks up to her parents with all the respect she can get, when she needs to. Communication was something the family mastered back then so it wasn’t really new for Jisoo to speak up to her parents. But it’s one thing to say something hurtful like that. She didn’t mean what she said, but she had to say it.

Eunha’s knees got weak. Mix of guilt and disappointment churn in her stomach. She holds on the chair in front of her. “I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?” Jisoo asked.

“I want you to come with me.” Eunha mumbles.

“What? Come with you—where?”

“Everywhere. Any where that I’ll be.” Eunha replied. “Remember this travel company that pays for my review? Well, they’re trying to make it a regular thing so they’re creating a whole blog for me and my reviews.”

“Mom, do you even know how to blog?”

“That’s why I need you.” Eunha steps closer and takes Jisoo’s hands. “Initially, they wanted to hire someone to be with me but then I told them my daughter can do that.”

Jisoo was mummed. Her mom’s surprise visit is ending in a couple of hours—or even minutes, she doesn’t even know, she has no idea when they’ll see each other again after this night, and now, she’s offering her some job around the world? No, it even sounds like she has decided for her already. How can Jisoo take that?

“I’ll be in Africa next month.” Eunha continues. “Maybe you can start with that. A month will be enough for you to—“

“Africa?” Jisoo cuts her off, involuntarily taking her hand away, with much respect that she can get even though it sounds so ridiculous. “You’re telling me to go with you to Africa? What about my job here?”

“That’s the point. A month will be enough, right?”

“No! I can’t leave my job here. It’s my life.” Jisoo said sternly, but her voice is shaking and her eyes are tearing up.

It was Eunha’s turn to be mummed. Of course. She was gone for a long time, her most precious daughter has created a life of her own already. It’s not like she didn’t expect that when she decided to start her adventures, she just hasn’t really accepted the fact that her daughter can have a life without her in it.

But then again, Eunha can’t help but be proud of her daughter. She has made this life for her. Only herself was responsible for her career—her life right now and she’s doing very well in it. Jisoo is being exactly the woman that she ought herself to be when she was young—smart, independent, happy—how can she take that away from her daughter?

Eunha melts into a weak smile. It confuses Jisoo; makes her scared because she’s sure she has hurt her mother so much.

But Eunha takes her hand back, caressing them, making them warm. She nods, as tears fall down her cheeks, her grip tightens as her tears fall harder.

“Mom,” Jisoo’s voice break as she calls. She steps closer and pulls her mom, quickly hugging her. “I-I’m so sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to—I’m so sorry. So sorry.”

Eunha hugs her back. “No, no, no. Baby, I am sorry. No. Sorry. I’m so sorry, my daughter.”

For a good minuted or two, they were just crying. Their sobs are echoing in the quiet room and their embrace is getting tighter. From the couch, Minseok is just quietly watching them, letting them have their moment.

“Sorry, Mom. I am so sorry.” Jisoo repeats.

Eunha shakes her head as she pulls back a bit to take Jisoo’s face in her hands.

“No, no, baby. You don’t need to apologize. It’s me who’s at fault here.” Eunha mumbles. “I shouldn’t have thought of pulling you away from your life. I shouldn’t take you away from what makes you happy.”

 

 

Jisoo slowly shuts the door behind her. It’s past midnight. She just sent her parents to her father’s car. She insists they should stay a little longer, have a short nap at least but her mother’s flight is at five in the morning so they have to leave as soon as they can. Their eyes are still puffy from their little argument, then they had to cry loads again when saying goodbye. Jisoo is still bad at it but her parents are worse. She had to make a joke that her neighbors will start talking about her again just to make her parents stop making a dramatic scene. After about fifteen minutes of saying goodbye, Jisoo watched her fathers car leave the driveway then drag her heavy heart back to her apartment.

Her mom’s offer, thinking about it now, is quite tempting. She misses her mom a lot and she has always wondered how it feels like to be with her, to live with her now that she’s an adult herself. She knows she can never bring her family back together but she has always found herself daydreaming about living with either of her parents. Now that an actual opportunity has been thrown at her, she realizes that it’s better to be a daydream for now.

She walked to her fridge to get some milk yoghurt to make her feel better. She walks to her room with the cold bottle of milk on her eyes, hoping to keep it from swelling too much. She opens the bottle and took a big gulp before putting it down on her bedside table. She then slumps herself on her bed. She takes a deep breath then slowly breathes out—trying to be in terms with everything that just happened today that is too overwhelming for her. One moment she’s on top of the world—her parents are back in town and she and Jinyoung are finally okay, more than okay it seems—but then, it slams back to the ground with her argument with her mom and she even had to send them away too soon.

She breathes in and out a couple of times before her phone started ringing. She didn’t want to answer it at first. It’s dawn, who else could be calling her? But then again, there can only be one person who’ll call her at this time and she knows his voice can make her feel better more than milk yoghurt or deep breaths can.

“Hey,” she greets, her voice deep.

“Did I wake you up?” Jinyoung murmurs soflty.

Jisoo shakes her head. “No, I’m just getting in bed.”

“It’s late. Did you have fun catching up with your parents?” he asked.

She felt like crying again. “No. They just left.”

“Already?” Jinyoung asked, surprised.

“Yeah,” was Jisoo’s only tearful reply.

She didn’t have to say anything anymore and he didn’t have to ask anything else.

“You should get some sleep.” Jinyoung said.

“Nah. I’d rather talk to you. Make me feel less sad.” Jisoo said.

Jinyoung smiled widely, replying with a comfortable silence. He started humming some soft lullaby.

“I wish you’re here.” Jisoo murmurs.

“Do you want me to go there?” Jinyoung asked.

“No, dummy.” Jisoo laughs. “Just, uh, sing me a song?”

“What should I sing?”

“Hm,” Jisoo mumbles, thinking, then she smiled. “Falling Slowly.”

Jinyoung melts in a smile. He hums it at first, trying to remember the melody and lyrics before he sings—his voice, soft and soothing.

You have suffered enough

And warred with yourself

It’s time that you won

Take this sinking boat and point it home

We still got time

Raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice

You’ve made it now

Falling slowly, sing your melody

I’ll sing along

 

***

 

Jisoo leaves the tears to the night before and starts the day with a good note. Finally, finally, things got sorted out with her and Jinyoung. In the most contemporary and digital-age way, they are now official. It funny how their ‘talk’ was never really a talk. It’s basically one-way; they’ve said what is inside them—the things that bothers them and the things that matters the most—but they haven’t really heard it yet. The plan was to review their answers in the playback but Jaebum said that they should watch it when it’s edited instead. He felt the urge to put some cinematic touch to it. Neither Jisoo nor Jinyoung argued anyway. Somehow, their looks and touches are enough to make it all right.

Jisoo just finished getting ready and is gathering her things for work when her phone started ringing. She took it from her kitchen top and answers it without checking who’s calling.

“Tell me everything.” It was Jennie, her voice is an octave higher in excitement.

“You could’ve just watched the footages from Jaebum.” Jisoo said.

“I did.”

Jisoo could only laugh. “Then, what else do you need to know?”

“Everything!”

“That’s pretty much everything.”

“So, you guys are together now? Like officially?”

Jisoo shrugged. “I don’t know. Are we? We haven’t really sort that out, technically. Do we have to?”

“I can finally sleep in peace.” Jennie mumbles softly. “I can go to work without a heavy heart.”

“You’re overreacting.” Jisoo said.

“I’m not.”

“Whatever. I’m hanging up. I’m getting off for work.”

“Excited to see her boyfriend at work.”

“Shut up, Jennie! Call you later.” Jisoo hangs up and readies herself to leave.

She is putting on her shoes when her doorbell suddenly rings. She finished putting on her shoes then went to the door, with her bag and things, ready to go.

“Good morning!” Jinyoung greets cheekily.

“Good morning,” Jisoo greets back, surprised at first but it quickly melts into a smile.

“Ready for work?” Jinyoung asked.

“Yeah.” Jisoo replied, hooking her back.

“Great. Come on.” Jinyoung said letting out her hand.

There’s a brief moment of Jisoo just staring at his hand and Jinyoung waiting for her to get it. We are together now. Jisoo thinks to herself just as she takes Jinyoung’s hand.

 

 

“Now, it feels like we’re an official couple. Is this how dating a coworker works?” Jinyoung says with a chuckle as he turns the car engine off, parking at HQ’s basement parking reserved for employees.

Jisok laughs dryly as she removes her seatbelt. “Yeah. But I’m bringing my car tomorrow.”

“Huh? Why? Are you on field tomorrow?” Jinyoung asked, turning back to get his bag from the back seat—to which he struggled so Jisoo helped him in.

“No.” Jisoo replied, successfully getting Jinyoung’s bag and handing it to him. “I’ll be just at the HQ.”

“Then, I’ll pick you up again.” Jinyoung said, leaning back on his chair.

“No, I’ll just use my own car tomorrow and the next days.” Jisoo replied.

Jinyoung, still confused, gets off the car to get Jisoo’s door.

“What do you mean?” Jinyoung asked, again, as he opens Jisoo’s door.

Jisoo gets off the car. “I mean I’m driving myself to work everyday, as usual.”

They walk towards the elevator.

“Oh, hi guys!” Bambam shouts from a far. He just got off his car and jogs to Jisoo and Jinyoung.

“I heard what happened last night.” Bambam mumbles, mischievously when he kept up with the two’s pace.

But neither of them paid attention.

“What are you talking about?” Jinyoung asked Jisoo. “You don’t like me driving you to work?”

Jisoo makes a face. “That is not what I mean. My apartment is out of your way to work. HQ is literally between our places. You can’t go all the way to my place then drive back to the HQ every single day.”

Bambam, standing between them a step behind, nods. “Good point.” But still, no one paid attention.

“It’s fine. I can do that everyday.” Jinyoung insists. “I want to do that everyday.”

“It’s the effort we’re talking about here.” Bambam murmurs.

They just entered the building lobby.

“But it’s so not practical!” Jisoo said. “It’s a waste of energy, gas and time!”

“It’s not wasted if I spent it with you.” Jinyoung said.

“Ew.” Bambam groaned.

“That’s not my point!” Jisoo said.

“But I don’t really mind any of that.” Jinyoung said with a shrug, finding it hard to understand why Jisoo won’t let him do something for her.

“I do!” Jisoo said, voice loud in frustration. Her steps get heavier and faster as she walks away from their direction, going out of the building instead.

“Jisoo!” Jinyoung calls, defeated and confused.

“What was that?” He asked, turning to Bambam.

“Oh, now you recognize my presence?” Bambam asked.

Bambam turned his back on Jinyoung and walks to the elevators’ direction.

Jinyoung turns to the elevator and to the front entrance back and forth, not knowing if he should follow Jisoo out and go to work since he only have about ten minutes to spare before he gets tardy.

“Just let her be. She needs to breathe.” Bambam calls, just as the elevator doors open in front of him.

Jinyoung groans before turning to the elevator, following Bambam inside.

“Dating Kim Jisoo one-o-one.” Bambam mumbles, crossing his arms.

Jinyoung wrinkles his eyebrows, knowing that it sounds absurd but he lets the younger man talk anyway.

“Not that I have an experience in the field, but this is based on being friends with her for a long time.” Bambam explains. “I’ve seen her date a few times and this has always been the issue.”

Jinyoung didn’t say anything and just listens.

“It’s not technically an issue. It’s a good thing actually, but it’s an issue to some guys, especially the egotistic assholes—are you an egotistic asshole?” Bambam turned to Jinyoung.

Jinyoung, though unsure, shakes his head. “No.”

“Good.” Bambam turns ahead. “Jisoo is a strong independent woman—don’t tell her I said that, she’ll be too happy.”

Jinyoung is still confused but he’s seeing light to it so he nods again.

“She just likes doing things on her own, if she can. She doesn’t like being babied in the relationship.” Bambam explains.

“But I just want to show that I care for her.” Jinyoung said.

“There’s a lot of other ways to do that.” Bambam replied. “It’s the challenge of dating her. You’re not dating just any girl; you’re dating Kim Jisoo.”

Jinyoung nods again, this time, he genuinely understands what’s going on. All he wanted was to make her feel special, to stuff for her. But Bambam is right. Dating Jisoo is more than just the usual dating stuff. Besides, this relationship isn’t about dating. This is about Jisoo and him. Jisoo is truly one of a kind; it’s not a challenge if it’s meant keeping her.

 

 

“Did you really have to pick a fight this early?” Jaebum asked Jisoo after hearing about what happened earlier.

Jisoo didn’t want to share what happened to anyone, it’s not like something that she’d love to share to people outside the relationship. And she did just that—not talk about it—for the whole day, she has kept it to herself. If Bambam wasn’t only too nosy to announce it to everyone just before they leave work.

“Yeah, and arguing over how you treat hangover on your first morning as a married couple is any different.” Jisoo replied with so much sass that left Jeabum speechless.

“How did you even know that?” Jaebum managed to murmur.

“That’s not even a question.” Jisoo rolls her eyes. “And the whole thing about the car—you know I’m right. I can’t just let Jinyoung drive that much every single day.”

“You can just stop being so aggressive about things like that.” Jaebum explained. “You can talk more calmly you know.”

“Calmly? I was calm.” Jisoo said, shooting Bambam—who’s stand behind them—a look. Jaebum also peeks over behind Bambam to give him a questioning look.

Bambam just shrugged. But it was more of a I-don’t-want-to-lie-and-get-beaten shrug which he ended with turning his back on his seniors.

Jisoo groaned and Jaebum sighs.

“You know what,” Jaebum said, tidying his things and getting ready to leave. “I don’t care about your shits anymore.”

Jisoo simply made a face and watched Jaebum leave, dragging Bambam with him and leaving her in their area alone. Youngjae and Mark went out for a shoot while Lisa left work early.

Jisoo gathers her things and gets ready to go home. She bent down her desk to get her bag and when she sits up, she found Jinyoung leaning on her cubicle divider.

“Hey,” Jinyoung greeted.

Jisoo, though surprised at first, didn’t make a big fuss about it and greets back. “Hi. How long have you been there?”

“Barely a minute.” Jinyoung replied, leaning off the divider and walking to the side. “Ready to leave? I can drive home tonight, right?”

Jisoo made a face. “Of course, unless you want me to take the subway—which is okay but you’re not going to do that.”

Jinyoung snorts a laugh. He walks to Jisoo’s chair and moves it to face him.

“Sorry about earlier.” Jinyoung mumbles, taking Jisoo’s hand.

Jisoo exhales. “Sorry too, I was harsh, I think.”

“You don’t have to be sorry for speaking yourself.” Jinyoung assured looking down at their hands. He looks up at Jisoo. “I have an idea.”

Jisoo’s face lights up. “What?”

“I won’t insist on driving you to work every morning.” Jinyoung starts. “But, how about we go to work an hour, or so, early so we can have breakfast together before we go to work?”

Jisoo thinks about it. “I have to wake up earlier?”

Jinyoung smiles. “We have to wake up earlier.”

Jisoo smiles, interlacing their fingers, agreeing,

They are two completely different people who love each other completely. Sometimes, even the simplest compromise is what will work best.

 

***

 

“Time travelling can’t be parellel—two things can’t happen at the same time.” Jinyoung mumbled, looking up at Jisoo’s white ceiling.

It’s Saturday and its already late afternoon. They just spent the whole morning filming at the park for Jinji. They filmed a picnic episode which they wrapped up quickly. It was like a healing episode, just the two of them eating kimbaps and other picnic snacks then taking a nap in the fields after biking and hanging out with some kids around.

Since they wrapped up early, Jinyoung went over Jisoo’s place and spent the whole afternoon there, just hanging out and watching cliché romcoms. There isn’t much after they went official. It’s basically like putting a label on it but everything else is happening naturally. That’s one good thing about them. There wasn’t much pressure about officially dating, they’re still the same, hanging out and having random intelligent conversations just like now—Jisoo randomly spits stuff about time traveling and alternate universe—never failing to amuse Jinyoung.

“That’s my point! If, let’s say, you went timetraveling and went back to the past, something will change. For sure, you’ll do something different and it will compromise the present—or the future since your in the past.” Jisoo argues. “So, technically, it is parallel!”

Jinyoung takes a moment, letting that sink in. It sounds right but it somehow makes him confused even more.

“Right? I am right, right?” Jisoo asks, putting her hands on Jinyoung’s face and faces him to her as she leans over him on her lap.

“I-I guess?” Jinyoung stutters—not because he’s pressured to agree but because of his heart racing with the sudden loss of distance between them. Despite being comfortable with each other, they will never fail to send each other butterflies.

Jinyoung immediately got distracted and stares at Jisoo’s face instead of listening to her timetraveling theories. He felt his heart warm and excited at the same time. With Jisoo’s intelligent ramblings and undeniable beauty, Jinyoung is sent to overdrive.

“God, I love you so much.” Jinyoung mumbles.

Jisoo immediately got flushed. The sudden confession is sending electricity all over her body. They’ve gone through a lot but this is actually the first time either of them say those words. She lets go of Jinyoung’s face, leaning back to breathe but Jinyoung reaches for her face instead to stop her. The next thing she knew, Jinyoung is leaning up, reaching for her lips. She’s surprised, but she didn’t protest anyway, kissing him back in an instant.

They pulled away shortly after. Their lips lingering then both of them melting in a smile.

“And I love you so.” Jisoo replied with a wide smile.

“But I don’t think timetraveling equates parallel universes.” Jinyoung mumbles before breaking into a grin.

“I hate you now.” Jisoo frowns, leaning back on her couch’s armrest and crossing her arms on her chest.

Jinyoung bursts into laughter before sitting up, facing Jisoo. Jisoo grimaces, arms crossed on her chest, then stands up from the couch.

“Hey, where are you going?” Jinyoung asked, still laughing, as he leans to the side of the side of th couch—watching Jisoo disappear to the bathroom. “You’re so adorable.”

Jinyoung’s laughter fades down as Jisoo’s phone starts ringing. He turned to where the sound is coming from and found her phone on top of the table.

“You have a call!” he says.

It took a moment before Jisoo answers. “Who is it?”

Jinyoung took it as a persmission to check her phone and takes.

“It’s Jennie.”

He heard a flushing sound before Jisoo answers. “Answer it.”

Jinyoung does as told and answers the call. “Hello?”

“Jis-Jinyoung?” Jennie greets hesitantly.

“What’s up, Mrs. Im?” Jinyoung said with a grin.

Jisoo walks out of the bathroom then Jinyoung takes the phone away from his ear, putting it on speaker mode.

“Where’s Jisoo?” Jennie asked.

“Here!” Jisoo answered, leaning over the couch. “What’s up?”

“Hey, Jaebum told me about your plan to send me to the airport for my flight.” Jennie says. “Forget it. The agency is picking me up.”

“What? Why?” Jisoo said, disappointed and surprised.

“I just told you, the agency is picking me up.” Jennie repeated. “And you know I hate being dramatic when I leave, us two—we’ll just make a sobbing mess at the airport.”

Jinyoung snorted a laugh, earning him a slap from Jisoo.

“But we haven’t even had our sendoff yet!” Jisoo argued.

“We just had dinner the other night!” Jennie replied.

Jennie was talking about the send off dinner that the girls prepared for her. It was supposed to be just them four girls but, for some reasons, Jinyoung and Jaebum, the entire Post It crew and even Jackson and Yugyeom were there too, making it a big send off party.

“I meant our sendoff.” Jisoo said with a frown. Jinyoung reached for her head and pats it comfortingly.

“Then let’s have dinner tomorrow night.” Jennie said.

“I have work.” Jisoo groaned. “My coworker threw his work at me because he wants to spend time with his wife who’s leaving the country.”

Jennie giggles. “How about lunch tomorrow? I can drive to the HQ.”

“How about now?” Jisoo suggests, her eyes lighting up at her own idea.

“What?” Jennie mumbles.

“I’ll go over at your place—Jinyoung and I will go there.” Jisoo turned to Jinyoung for approval which he gave with a wrinkly smile. “We’ll bring drinks so call for a delivery.”

“W-what? We’re not ready to have guests around!” Jennie protested.

“What guests?” Jisoo echoes. “We’re coming over!”

 

 

“How is that Prisoner of Azkaban?” Jisoo asked, annoyed, pushing her shoulders up and moving like a ghost—reenacting what Jaebum was doing a while ago. “What was that?”

Jisoo and Jinyoung arrived at the Ims a couple of hours after the girls’s call. The newlyweds didn’t have a choice but to let the two in, even though they prefered having the time alone for themselves, considering that they wanted to spend their remaining time together alone. Jisoo and Jinyoung came in for more than just drinks and dinner though. They came for a spontaneous lazy double-date. They ended up exchanging partners for an exciting game for charades. They all thought Jaebum and Jisoo are at an advantage since they work together and should have more teamwork than Jennie and Jinyoung but, four rounds later, the Post It combo loses at a 3-1 score.

“Dementors!” Jaebum replied, matching Jisoo’s annoyance. “I’m acting as a dementor!”

“Dementors?!” Jisoo echoed. “That is a very poor imitation of a dementor and besides, it’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, you should’ve acted out Sirius Black!”

Jaebum could only scoff because he realizes that Jisoo is right and couldn’t admit he’s wrong at the heat of the argument. Jinyoung and Jennie could only laugh at how their partners bicker like little kids in front of them.

“Hey, hey, don’t act like your Love Actually act was good.” Jaebum murmurs, standing from the floor where he and Jisoo are seated, then walks to take his place beside Jennie in the couch.

“My prime minister dance was totally on point!” Jisoo argued.

Jaebum made a face as he wraps his arm around Jennie, pulling her close, reclaiming his place as Jennie’s real partner, as if Jinyoung would take her away from him. “How am I supposed to get that?”

As Jeabum pulls her close, Jennie turns to him, putting her arm around his waist too and leaning her head on his shoulders—all the while, Jinyoung is inching away from the couple, feeling slightly awkward to be a third wheel on the love couch.

Jisoo noticed Jinyoung’s rising discomfort and giggles sightly which she stops midway, not wanting to embarrass her boyfriend.

“Wait,” Jisoo mumbles, as she stretches her arm out to Jinyoung. Jinyoung, even though clueless, takes her hand anyway. “So you mean you haven’t watched Love Actually yet?”

Jisoo and Jinyoung interlaced their fingers then she tugs him in. It was only then when Jinyoung realized that she is pulling him to her. Jinyoung then evacuates the couch and moves to seat beside Jisoo on the floor—all of this happened while Jaebum answers, “Nah. I don’t watch chick flicks.”

“Oh, yeah, I knew it you always hated it when I put on a romcom during movie nights.” Jennie mumbles, slightly moving away from Jaebum so she can shoot him a look.

Jaebum turned pale, face blank, before he gently pulls Jennie’s head back to his shoulder, mumbling, “It’s an exemption when I’m watching with you.” He pats Jennie’s head as she shakes her head slightly.

“Good save.” Jinyoung says, reaching for a fist bump which Jaebum didn’t take and earned him a pinch on the thigh from Jisoo instead.

“Ouch!” Jinyoung protests before he takes Jisoo’s hand and pulls her in, wrapping his arm around her waist then planting a kiss on her temple. “That was a joke.”

“Hey!” Jisoo eyes widens, surprised and embarrassed by the sudden act of affection in front of her best friends, but she still ends up burrying her face on Jinyoung’s chest as if to save her from further embarrassment.

Jinyoung, amused at Jisoo’s burst of cuteness, looks up at the other couple couple in front of them, giving them a look-she’s-so-cute kind of look to which Jaebum replied with a groan and Jennie answered with a giddy a smile.

“We look so grossly cute and in love right now.” Jennie mumbles. “I’m glad we did this before I leave.”

Jaebum plants a kiss on her head while Jinyoung and Jisoo moves to a more comfortable position with Jinyoung’s arm behind her and Jisoo’s arm leaning on his thigh.

“We’ll do more of this when you come back!” Jisoo promises, before realizing that’s going to be a long time and it’s too much of a future plan for Jinyoung and her. “Or we could visit you in Milan?” Still it was too much for a barely week-old couple like them. “Or whatever, we’ll surely do this again.”

“We’ll definitely do this again.” Jinyoung whispers, only to Jisoo, as if he’s assuring her that it’s going to happen; they’re going to be together until Jennie is back, they’ll be together for big trips, they’ll be together for a really long time—he’s sure of that.

 

 

What supposed to be a drinks and dinner turned out as a sleepover—about three hours after their charades game and another round of drinks with late-night chicken delivery, Jinyoung and Jisoo are now fast asleep on the couch.

Jennie walks out of their room to give the two blankets as Jaebum cleans up their trash—empty beer cans and chicken boxes.

“Looking at them like this, it’s like a proud moment.” Jennie mumbles as she drapes the blanket over Jinyoung and Jisoo.

Jaebum stands behind her, watching his best friends. “Yeah, after too much headache, finally.”

Jennie nudged him in the side. “It’s still your fault.”

“It’s my fault that they’re in love then.” Jaebum replied, going back to cleaning up.

Jennie laughs shaking her head as she turns to Jaebum and helps him tidy their living room. They did the chore quietly, not wanting to wake their friends up. They walk back and forth to the kitchen then back to the living room, alternately taking the trash to the bin and putting the dirty dishes to the sink. Neither of them speaks, just savoring the silence. It’s a comforting kind of silence when they’re preoccupied doing something together. It’s like they’re alone but not entirely, they can still enjoy the silence of being alone despite being, technically, together.

“It’s raining.” Jennie stops in front of their small balcony when she saw the droplets of water filling in their window as the rain calmly pours outside.

“It is.” Jaebum mumbles, appearing behind Jennie and wrapping his arms around her waist.

They stayed like that for a moment, just admiring the soft rain, Jaebum humming softly on Jennie’s ear.

“You know what,” Jennie mumbles. “Sometimes I remember that old man you stole that umbrella from—“

“We stole.” Jaebum cuts her off with a soft whisper, tickling her and making her burst into a soft giggle.

“Don’t you even feel guilty about that?” Jennie asked.

“It was an umbrella, I did no harm.” Jaebum replied. “Besides, he should be happy. If not for him, we won’t end up like this.”

Jennie melts into a smile.

“We’re filming at the Day Care tomorrow, do you want to come?” Jaebum asked. “It’s just a morning shoot, I can ditch work in the afternoon and we can go somewhere else.”

“Day Care?” Jennie echoed. “For Jinji?”

Jaebum simply mumbled a reply, tightening his embrace around Jennie’s waist.

“That’ll be great, Jisoo loves kids.” Jennie said.

“Jinyoung too.” Jeaebum said.

“Aw,” Jennie hums. “That’ll be so great, they’ll look so good with kids.”

Jaebum melts into a smile. “We’ll be good with kids.”

The question surprised Jennie a bit. Not that it’s an unwelcomed idea for her. It’s just that, despite having lived together for a long time and being actually married, they haven’t really had talks about having kids, not even through subtle jokes, this is the first time. She melts into a soft, wide smile eventually, even though it’s the first time they’re bringing the topic up, it’s something that always excites Jennie.

“You think so?” she asked, wrapping her arms around Jaebum’s.

“Of course.” Jaebum mumbles. “Imagine little Jennies and little Jaebums running around here. They’d be crying and giggling at the same time as I play with them and you doing your thing or vice versa.”

Jaebum straightened his back and loosens his embrace a bit, looking around their apartment.

“But don’t you think this will be a bit small for five people?” he asked, glancing around.

“Five people?” Jennie echoed. “You want three kids?”

“I’m an only child so I’ve always thought it’ll be more fun to have more kids.” Jaebum pouts. “You think three kids are too much?”

Jennie shakes her head and pulls Jaebum’s arms back around her waist. “I think that’s perfect.”

Jaebum’s face lights up.

“We’ll buy a bigger house.” Jaebum says, burrying his chin at the crook of Jennie’s neck. “Three bedrooms for us all, with one studio for me and a walk-in closet for you; the kids should have a room for them too—a playroom. Then, we’ll have a garden where we can invite our friends over for brunch on weekends.”

It warms Jennie’s heart hearing Jaebum with all his plans and dreams. This is the different side of Jaebum that Jennie knows only she can see. The Jaebum that is forever young and innocent inside, the Jaebum filled with dreams and aspirations, the Jaebum that is only hers. She puts her hands on his arms, his soft hands running through his firm arms.

Jennie is leaving in two days and she should be sad for leaving Jaebum. The first time she left, it was filled with tears. They just broke up but Jaebum still drove her to the airport, the entire trip was filled with tears. By the time she was about to go on board and Jaebum was watching her get pass the gates, their eyes were already dried out of tears and their hearts were too broken to even beat.

But this time, the goodbye is lighter, it’s doesn’t even feel like a goodbye. It’s like they’re just looking forward to that day when Jaebum gets to visit her in Milan; to that day that she can come back home; to that day when they’re back at each other’s embrace. This time, they’re not dwelling to being apart and instead, looking forward to the future they’ll spend together—which is what’s important. They’re done worrying about the what ifs and are instead just looking forward to the kisses and embraces they’ll share.

“I can’t wait to spend life with you.” Jaebum mumbles before planting a soft, sweet kiss on Jennie’s temple.

Jennie closes her eyes, feeling Jaebum’s lips.

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

 

***

 

“Bye, kids. Sorry, we have to go now.” Jisoo waves to the kids at the Day Car after wrapping up filming and having lunch with them. They were supposed to just leave after filming but since the kids started crying when they’re about to leave, they decided to have lunch with them too.

“We’ll come back and visit you, okay? Don’t cry now.” Jinyoung assures, Daehan, a little boy who has clung onto him for the past fifteen minutes, not wanting to let go. He ends up crying harder when Jinyoung says goodbye.

Jinyoung looks up at Jisoo with a frown, making Jisoo melt into a bittersweet smile. This is the first time Jisoo is seeing him with kids and it just melts her heart seeing how cute he looks with kids. She loves kids and she loves Jinyoung—she has prepared herself for a day filled with fluffiness but she never thought she’ll end up loving Jinyoung even more after seeing him play with them.

One of the teachers in the Day Care then walks to Jinyoung to help them with Daehan. Some people really have magic over kids because after talking to the boy, she was able to take him away from Jinyoung. Jinyoung stands up, immediately taking Jisoo’s hand when he stood beside her, then they wave the kids goodbye.

“I feel bad leaving.” Lisa pouts as Youngjae drives away from the Day Care, on their way back to the office.

It didn’t take long before the crew has faded into silence. Jaebum is already snoring, Lisa and Jisoo are on their phones, scrolling through social media, and Jinyoung is just dozing off, leaning on Jisoo’s shoulder.

Jisoo is scrolling through Twitter when her phone suddenly rings, receiving a call.

“Nayeon?” she mumbles, seeing the caller ID.

Lisa peeks over. “Nayeon from PR? Why is she calling you?”

Nayeon is Jisoo’s friend from Post It’s PR department. They have known each other and are close for a while since they got in Post It around the same time but she can’t help but get nervous whenever she gets a call from her—especially during working hours because calls from the PR department only means two things—they did something good they got good writeups or they did something so messed up they needed to do write something up.

“I don’t know.” Jisoo nervously mumbles as she answers the call, taking the phone to her ear.

“What’s up, girl?” Jisoo greets.

“Jisoo! Finally someone answered!” Nayeon replied, the urgency in her voice worries Jisoo even more.

“You’ve been calling me?” Jisoo asked. “Why?”

“All of you. I’ve been calling you, Jaebum and Lisa, I even called Bambam but turns out he’s out of the office.” Nayeon corrected. “Where are you?”

Jisoo’s anxiety, her shoulders tensed, keeping Jinyoung from completely falling asleep.

“We just finishied filming. What happened?” Jisoo manages to ask, she’s shaking now, worrying Jinyoung who immediately puts an arm aroung him. Lisa tensed in her seat too and Jaebum has woken up from his nap.

“Are you with them? You should put your phone on speaker, Jaebum needs to hear this too.” Nayeon said.

Jisoo does as told and moves her phone from her ear then clicking the speaker mode. Jaebum’s eyebrows furrow, not knowing how to react.

Nayeon takes a deep breath before continuing. “Someone wrote an anonymous post about Jinji. We can’t tell who posted it and where they got the information but it’s packed with evidences and stuff. I—”

“What does it say?” Jaebum asked.

Nayeon took a while before answering, it’s like she’s getting a lump out of her chest.

“The person claims that Jinji is a made-up couple, fooling million of viewers.” Nayeon eventually says. “Jinji’s exposed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> because we can’t have too much fluff without a price! oof
> 
> Date count after this chapter: 21/23. We’re getting closer to uh let’s say, finale. So giving you guys a heads up, we only have 1-2 more chapters after this...
> 
> So yeah tell me your thoughts! I’d love to hear (read) them. 
> 
> Thank you <3


	17. Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally. it's. here.
> 
>  
> 
> PS. Hold on to your seats because this one's messy lmao

“Do you have anyone in mind that could do this?” Rosé asked Jinyoung.

They are at the HQ’s brain room together with Nayeon, Youngjae and Mark. Except Mark, who’s always just so calm, all of them are stressed; especially Rosé. Since they got the tip for the post, she has spent all of her time troubleshooting, deleting every single comment on YouTube and Instagram that directs and mentions the said post. It’s getting worse because the PR department is now getting calls from advertisers and Nayeon is spearheading in explaining and telling them that they got everything under control. It was a big fat lie but there’s nothing else they can do. As soon as the crew got back from filming, Youngjae and Jinyoung started helping Rosé in dealing with the comments while Jaebum, Lisa, and Jisoo are in an emergency meeting with Dohwan, trying to wrap their heads in the crisis.

The crisis.

At around 11:51 last night, an anonymous Twitter account with the username _jinjisucks057_ and display name _Jester_ , tweeted a cryptic tweet that said:

_“Playtime’s over. It’s time for you to pay.”_

It was then followed by a series of tweets, creating a thread that shows Jinyoung in his past relationship. The thread follows a timeline starting from the time that Jinyoung arrived in New York, how he and Jessica got together, to their graduation, them living together—it’s scarily too accurate. The thread is even supported by photos taken from Jinyoung’s Instagram (which he deleted over a month ago) and even photos that he doesn’t even know was taken but he’s sure happened.

By 9:20 this morning, a YouTube account with the same username as the twitter account, started commenting to every single episode of Jinji uploaded on YouTube. There’s nothing else in their comment except a link to the Twitter thread. Still, nobody in Post It noticed. They only got alarmed when people started tagging them on Instagram screenshots from the said tweet thread. It got so out of hand that Rosé, leading the social media team, had to ask help from PR department for troubleshooting.

Since then, the panic has never left the twenty-third floor.

Which brings them back to the brain room where Rosé, hot-tempered from stress and hunger, is interrogating Jinyoung.

“It’s obviously someone who knows you.” Rosé said.

Jinyoung doesn’t know what to say. It is definitely someone that knows him. _It’s someone that he knows_. There’s no way this person is just someone who found the truth behind Jinji so trivial that they exposed the show. There is definitely some threatening intent in this. Someone wants to pull them down. Someone wants to pull Jinyoung down.

“I don’t know.” Was the only thing Jinyoung could say.

Rosé gave him a look, tired and defeated, before sighing heavily and looking back at her laptop.

Just then, the brain room’s door swings open, Bambam walking inside.

“What the fuck is going on?” he asked.

All he got for a reply was a collective sigh from the group.

“We’re fucked up.”

It was Jaebum who answered, appearing behind Bambam. Bambam, stepped aside, letting him, Jisoo and Lisa in.

“Dohwan wants every single comment deleted and the entire thread itself gone by the end of the day or else, Jinji is over.” Jaebum explained, slumping himself on the couch, burying his head on his hands.

Jinyoung immediately stands from his seat and runs to Jisoo, wrapping her in a comforting embrace. It was so much more than comfort. They’ve barely been away from each other but it looks like there is yearning with the embrace. Both of them seeking strength from each other.

“Wait—I thought they’re fake?” Nayeon asked, wide eyed, after seeing the two.

“It’s, uh, complicated.” Youngjae replied in a whisper.

“Any updates with reporting the account?” Lisa asked walking inside then looking behind Mark.

“We’ve reported it, a lot of times already but still no response from Twitter.” Youngjae explained. “Rosé has been calling her contacts over Twitter but they have yet to have concrete replies.”

“But we’re getting it down within today? I mean, it’s possible, right?” Jisoo said, walking to Jinyoung’s place and taking over his laptop.

“Yeah, well, the account does look like a dummy account anyway, they should take it down.” Rosé agreed.

“How about the comments?” Jaebum asked, standing up.

“The root comment has been taken down, on all videos.” Rosé replied. “We’re getting less comments for the past hour. Hopefully, by the end of the day, there’ll be no comments anymore. If things come to worst, we’ll have to disable leaving comments. Do you want me to do that?”

Jaebum takes a moment. “No. That’ll be too sudden. Let’s try our best eliminating them manually for now. How are people’s response?”

“Fair, to be honest.” Nayeon says. “Most are sceptical about it.”

Jaebum nods. “Okay. We have to work even harder after this. PR—“ he turned to Nayeon. “We need your help. We need to do something that’ll be bigger than this but not too obvious, you know, just to overlap the issue.”

Nayeon smiles. “Yeah, got it.” She folds her laptop and stands from the round table. “I’ll talk to my team about this then I’ll get back to you.”

“Thanks, Nayeon. We owe you a lot.” Jaebum said.

“You sure do.” She replied. She stopped by Jisoo before walking to the door, giving her a quick hug. “We need to catch up a lot.”

Jisoo smiles weakly. “Thank you so much, Nayeon.”

After a few nods of goodbye, Nayeon exits the room, leaving the crew inside.

Jaebum turned to his team. “Okay, emergency production, guys. We need something big and we need to film it as soon as we can.”

“Wait,” Rosé interrupts. “We need to sort something out first.” She turned to Jinyoung. “I mean, what the hell is going on? Who is that girl?”

Jinyoung and Jisoo froze in their places. Jisoo slowly turned behind her where Jinyoung is standing, his grip on her shoulder tightened.

“Are you cheating on Jisoo?” Bambam added. “Why did you come to New York three months ago?”

“No!” Jisoo was firm to deny. “It’s not like that.”

“Then are you cheating on her with Jisoo?” Rosé added.

“No.” Jinyoung answered firmly.

Jaebum takes a deep breath, feeling responsible for this mess.

“Jinyoung is not cheating on anyone.” He starts, looking at Jinyoung. Even though he’s responsible for this, he doesn’t feel like he has the right to tell the story.

Jisoo turns back to Jinyoung, checking on him and asking for approval to explain. Jinyoung takes a deep breath instead.

“Jessica was my girlfriend.” Jinyoung finally starts. “We were together for a really long time, back when I was in New York.”

He stops. Not knowing how to continue, whether he should continue. Then, he suddenly felt Jisoo’s hand on his—warm and comforting, telling him it’s okay. It’s always going to be okay.

“She passed away.” He continues, head down and his voice is almost inaudible. “About two years ago.”

He looks up, looking at his friends—Jisoo’s friends that he knows are just worried about Jisoo.

He takes Jisoo’s hand, interlacing their fingers firmly. “But that’s all in the past. I’m serious about Jisoo now. This…” he trails off, trying to grasp on the issue. “This is just someone trying to break me down. I’m sorry you guys are getting dragged. I—“

“Then that’s it. Problem solved.” Mark suddenly mumbles, leaning in the table.

“What?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Have you gone nuts already?”

Lisa, Youngjae and Jaebum said respectively.

“We’re acting this way because we’re guilty.” Mark said. “But think about it, this whole fucking thread means nothing.”

“This fucking thread is a very detailed thread, mind you.” Rosé said.

“Exactly.” Mark agreed. “It’s a very detailed thread complete with timelines which I assume were accurate?”

Mark turned to Jinyoung for an approval which the latter gave with an ashamed nod.

“Then, the thread just says that he was in a committed relationship about two years ago. It doesn’t say that he’s in the same relationship while Jinji was going on—which we all know, wasn’t the truth.” Mark explained.

For once, since the news broke out, the team were actually calming down.

“Whoever this person is, they’re doing this to scare us.” Mark continues. "To bring Jinji down is probably secondary. But their main goal is to shake us so we’ll end up doing dumb decisions like producing an episode out of hand.”

“What should we do then?” Jaebum, fully on board with Mark, asked.

Mark leans back on his chair, back on his calm stance. “Nothing.”

 

 

Jinyoung drove Jisoo home that night. The entire trip was so quiet, it was almost deafening. Neither of them spoke a word, exhausted to say anything.

They agreed with Mark’s suggestion to keep mum about it—no big production, no PR move; they’ll just continue with filming like it’s nothing while quietly taking down every comment they get that leads to the issue. Like Rosé said, it didn’t take long before they stopped receiving malicious comments, even on their Instagram. Once in a while there’ll still be a comment or two, but it’s managable. By the time they allowed themselves to go home and have a rest, it’s already past midnight. Also the reason why Jisoo and Jinyoung didn’t bother talking during their drive.

Jinyoung casually walked Jisoo to her unit. Even though they didn’t feel like talking, they didn’t feel like leaving each other too.

“Do you want something to eat? Drink?” Jisoo asked, speaking for the first time, as they entered her apartment.

She went straight to her kitchen while Jinyoung walks behind her to the living room, putting Jisoo’s things down and removing his coat.

“I’m not hungry.” Jinyoung replied.

“We barely ate anything since lunch.” Jisoo replied, turning to Jinyoung with a frown, as she removes her coat then putting it on the counter top. “We need to eat something. I’ll make some soup.”

Jinyoung simply nods. Jisoo is right and getting into a petty argument over food is the least that they need right now.

Jisoo starts taking ingredients from her fridge and taking pans from the cupboard. As she is busy on her back, Jinyoung walks behind her couch and leans on it as he watches Jisoo cook. It’s oddly comforting to be in silence and just watch the person he loves doing something, anything, that keeps her preoccupied.

They haven’t known each other for a while, at least not as long as Jaebum and Jennie’s relationship, but they have been through a lot already. They’ve gone through the extremes—sweet dates, petty fights and even dramatic crisis like this. It’s too much for a young couple like them.

But he’s with Jisoo and with her, everything feels like it’s going to be all right.

Jisoo is in the middle of cutting something when Jinyoung walks to her, slowly and quietly. He slowly wraps his arms around her waist, making her jump a bit but she let him be.

Jinyoung buries his head on Jisoo’s back, whispering, “Sorry.”

Jisoo didn’t say anything, letting the silence reply.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Jinyoung asked. “You know I’m responsible.”

“It’s not your fault.” Jisoo replied. “It could be anyone. It could be the people around us who happened to know the truth. It could be Woohyun, you know, he must feel bad about what happened.”

Jinyoung frowned. “He couldn’t have access to my Instagram, you know that.”

Jisoo takes a deep breath, putting down the knife then slowly turning around to face Jinyoung.

“What I’m saying is,” she mumbles, lifting Jinyoung’s head. “It’s not important who that person is, they could be anyone for all we know. What’s important is we learned our lesson.”

“What’s the lesson?” Jinyoung cluelessly asked.

Jisoo took a moment before reacting. Then she lets go of his face, slowly stepping away from his embrace.

“Is there anything wrong?” Jinyoung asked, it’s a dumb question given the issue they’re battling right now, but he can’t help but get worried.

“I’m just…” Jisoo trails off, not knowing how to express what bothers her.

It’s something that she’s been thinking of since they came back from the Day Care, a thought that never left her mind since. _They lied and now they’ve broken their audience’s trust._ There’s no one to blame but them. This isn’t about who exposed the truth. It leads them back to the roots—they lied. They’re mindful about it and they just let it happen. They planned it. _It’s their purpose._

“We should stop lying to people.” Jisoo finally says as she leans on her dining table.

Jinyoung didn’t say a thing, just dreadfully waitinh for Jisoo to continue.

“It’s been bothering me for a while. We’re fooling people with what we’re doing, Jinyoung.” She says. “It’s a fact we all knew and now, it’s taking it’s toll.”

“But what Mark said is right. Technically, we’re not really fooling them. It’s like we started when the series started.” Jinyoung said.

Jisoo shakes her head. “We both know that’s not true. That’s just something to make us feel better. Truth is, we’re lying to those people who trust us, who get inspired by us. That’s just so unfair.”

Jinyoung steps closer. Ashamed but convinced. He takes Jisoo’s hands. “What do you want to do? Do you want to end it?”

Jisoo scoffs. “We can’t do that. We can’t do that to Jaebum.”

Jinyoung couldn’t say anything. Jisoo is right. They’re stuck.

“Maybe this is it. This is our price.” Jisoo mumbles. “Maybe we have to live with the burden of the truth. Maybe that’s what we deserve.”

Jinyoung lifts Jisoo’s hand and caresses it on his cheek.

“I love you.” He said, staring at Jisoo. “And that is the realest that we can get. Maybe that’s enough.”

Jisoo stared right back at him, holding his gaze. They locked eyes for a moment, letting themselves get lost in the universe that their eyes hold. Amidst all chaos, this is probably the best thing to happen.

Jisoo, finally, melts in a soft smile; letting go. She slowly tiptoes to wrap her arms around Jinyoung’s neck, pulling him in. Jinyoung didn’t waste time and pulled her in too, wrapping his arms on his waist.

“I don’t feel like cooking anymore.” Jisoo whispers, burying her face on the crook of Jinyoung’s neck.

“I told you I’m not hungry.” Jinyoung replied.

Jisoo smiles, inhaling Jinyoung’s scent.

“Do you want to sleep over tonight?” Jisoo asked.

Jinyoung tried so hard not to make it obvious when his body tensed but Jisoo is quick to notice.

“I mean, I uh,” Jisoo stutters. “I just…I think—“

Jinyoung cuts her off by pulling her close.

“It’s okay. I know.”

 

 

Jinyoung can’t put himself to slumber. If anything, Jisoo had trouble sleeping too but eventually, she was able to sleep within Jinyoung’s comforting embrace. They are on her bed, lying down with arms around each other. Jisoo is resting her head on Jinyoung’s chest and his are around her protectively, involuntary caressing her shoulder with his fingers.

He is wide awake, brain tired from even thinking but too busy to even fall asleep. There are too many things going on his mind that he can’t even focus on one thing. He thinks about the post—who could it possibly be? Who knows him so well yet hates him so much to do this? Then his mind drifts on to Jisoo. Maybe she’s right. Maybe this is karma. This is what they deserve for lying in the first place.

Maybe she’s right. Maybe it’s time to come clean and stop. Maybe this is the end for Jinji.

Jinyoung was pulled from his thoughts when he felt his phone vibrating on Jisoo’s bedside table. He turned to Jisoo first, making sure the vibration didn’t wake her up, before he turned to the table. He slowly lifts himself up, careful not to wake her up. He reaches for his phone but it’s too late to answer it, the ringing stopped, making it a missed call.

Jinyoung sits up on the side of the bed, his back on Jisoo, worrying at the sight of the number. Not only is it an unknown number, it is also an overseas call. He’s not sure which country it’s from and before he could even go and search where the area code belongs to, his phone starts ringing again, getting an incoming call from the same number. He stared at the number, letting anxiety and fear get through him before finally answering it and putting his phone on his ear.

He didn’t say a thing after taking the call, letting the caller speak first. This way, he can know who the person is without giving in. But the caller knows better, the person didn’t say anything either. The growing silence is making the fear in Jinyoung creep faster.

The person suddenly laughs. It’s a man and his laugh is deep and almost insulting making Jinyoung’s fear turn into agitation.

“Who are you?” Jinyoung finally says, his voice trembling in anger.

The man’s laughter dies down. “What’s with the scared voice? I thought you’re a brave man, did my present scare you this much?”

Jinyoung’s whole body tensed, he feels like throwing up. It’s making sense while it’s getting more complicated.

“What do you want?” Jinyoung asked, trying so hard to make his voice more firm.

Jinyoung’s voice and the feeling of the empty bed wakes Jisoo up.

“Jinyoung?” She asks turning to Jinyoung, squinting her eyes as she sits up on the bed too. “Who are you talking to?”

“Oh, so you’re with her?” The man on the other line told Jinyoung. “Are you beside her on the bed right now? How can you even sleep at night knowing you watched someone die in vain?”

Jinyoung froze. His hands went cold and his stomach churns into a deep pit.

Jisoo reaches for his arm, she is now sitting beside him. “What’s wrong? Who are you talking to?”

Jinyoung instinctively moved away from Jisoo’s grip, leaving her wide-eyed in puzzle.

“What do you want?” Jinyoung said sternly. “Who are you?”

“Who am I?” The man mumbles before bursting into yet another annoying laughter. “You really dumped all your memories of her, huh? Not even her family?”

Jinyoung’s sight turned dark when he finally realizes who it is. There’s only one person who can do this.

“Tristan,” the name of Jessica’s younger brother came like with a heavy heart from Jinyoung’s lips.

The other line went silent. Jinyoung would assume he hang up if not for his heavy breathing.

“You don’t deserve to be happy.” He finally says before hanging up on Jinyoung.

Jinyoung slowly puts his phone down as things start to make sense to him. It can’t be anyone else except Tristan. He’s Jessica’s younger brother. He’s a couple of years younger than them. He is Jessica’s only sibling so they were really close. The younger boy looks up to his sister so much that he was just as devastated when she passed away. He has always blamed Jinyoung for his sister’s death but Jinyoung never thought he’ll end up hating him this much for him to do this.

Jisoo noticed the fear in Jinyoung’s eyes. She slowly walks to him.

“I-I’m sorry, Jisoo.” Jinyoung mumbles, suddenly realizing what he has done to Jisoo. “I didn’t mean to… the thread… it was Jessica’s brother…” He trails off, not really knowing how to explain. He turned to Jisoo.

“He hasn’t forgiven me.” He mumbles. “He said I don’t deserve to be happy. Maybe he’s right. Maybe I really don’t—“

“Sshh.” Jisoo hushed him. She takes his hand, taking his phone away and putting it back on the bedside table. She pulls his hand closer to her face, making it warm on her cheek. Her other hand reaches for his face, caressing it. “It’s okay. It’s okay.”

She lets go of his hands only to put both her arms around him, pulling him close.

Jinyoung collapses on her embrace, exhausted.

Jisoo rubs his head and his back as she continues whispering. “It’s okay. It’s okay.”

 

***

 

“So, what does he want?” Jaebum asks after Jinyoung and Jisoo told him about the call.

They are on the van, on their way to Myeongdong to film one of Jinji’s date. Like what they’ve agreed from yesterday’s emergency meeting, they will continue with Jinji as if the exposed thread didn’t exist at all. Over night, the thread has been taken down and the account has been suspended. There is no trace of it YouTube’s and Instagram’: comment sections. Overall, it’s a really successful damage control that Rosé deserves a promotion.

“Does he want money?” Jaebum added.

Jinyoung made a face of disgust.

“It’s not like that, Jaebum.” Jisoo said calmly.

Jaebum looked away. He knows it’s dumb but he said it anyway out of frustration.

“Then, what? What can we do to stop him from doing this again?” Jaebum asked.

Jinyoung sighs, ashamed.

“I don’t know.” He admits. “But I will find out. I have to. I need to find him and talk to him.”

“How will you do that? Are you going back to New York to talk to him?” Jaebum dared.

“He’s not in New York.” Jinyoung replied. “I went to their house when I came there but they moved out.”

“Then, it’s more impossible to find him.” Jaebum said. “How are you going to look for him?”

“I have to start from where the call came from.” Jinyoung said. “The area code is 64. Do you know where that is from?”

“Six-four?” Mark echoed from behind the wheel. “That’s New Zealand.”

“Hold on, guys,” Lisa cuts them off. “As much as I want to solve this now, we need to set this mission aside. We have to get off here and walk to the street market. Mark has to look for parking somewhere.”

As instructed, they get off the van. They didn’t have any setup to do since the filming is basically just following them walk so they just stroll around while waiting for Mark to park the van.

Jaebum has one camera filming Jisoo and Jinyoung walking ahead, just for filling in shots. The couple are walking hand in hand, oblivious of the camera behind them. Jaebum is just quietly filming them as they walk to different kiosks and carts, checking out different stuff and food. Jisoo leads the way, dragging Jinyoung behind but once in a while, he’ll close the gap—when they stop at a cart, all the space between them are gone.

They stopped at an accessory cart. Jisoo is trying on some rings while Jinyoung is looking at her, one step behind. He’s watching her so dearly, watching her every move with affection. A few seconds later, he steps closer, right behind Jisoo. He rests his chin on her shoulder, murmuring something that Jaebum can’t hear but made Jisoo snort a laughter. Jinyoung then takes one of the rings and puts it on Jisoo’s finger.

Jaebum puts the camera down. A part of him tells himself that this is a good footage. Not only is it grossly sweet that people will like but it’s also so authentic—which tells him even more not to film it. He has taken so much of his friends’ personal space for this little show of his, a little bit too much that they ended up getting hurt like this, he should give them this moment to themselves.

The night before was Jennie’s last night before she left this morning. She and Jaebum should’ve spent it fruitfully, or at least calmly, but last night was cold. Jaebum came home to Jennie totally clueless about what happened. He didn’t want to tell her about it. Not that he wanted to lie to her but simply because he didn’t want to spoil their night. But he just can’t leave her out of this. It’s not just Jaebum messing something at work, it’s also her best friend who’s in trouble here. So he told her what happened, every detail that he can. Recounting the events just made him realize even more that, at the end of the day, none of this would’ve happen if not for him.

Jennie chose not to nag him about it, not even comment on it. She did try calling Jisoo but she didn’t answer. Jennie assumed she’s too tired to take a call. They laid in bed in silence. Jaebum, suddenly feeling the exhaustion creep in his body all at once. He wanted to seek comfort and strength from Jennie but he’s too embarrassed to even look at her. Just when he’s about to give up getting sleep, he felt Jennie’s arms around him, pulling him close and making him warm; giving him all the strength that he needs as she softly whispers, “It’s going to be fine. I know you can make it all right. I trust you.”

Jaebum woke up this morning with that trust motivating him. He went to work with one goal—to make it all right. How and when he’ll do it, he doesn’t know yet. But he’s certain he can start by giving Jisoo and Jinyoung this moment.

“It’s so hard looking for a parking space” Mark says approaching Jaebum and Lisa. “Let’s start—“

“ _Lying bitch!”_

All heads turn to where the scream is coming from—ahead of them; where Jisoo and Jinyoung are. A group of high school girls are in front of the two, Jisoo is drenched with what seems to be coffee.

“What the f—what are you doing?!” Jinyoung, failing to stop one of the girls in throwing iced coffee at Jisoo, protectively steps ahead to shield her with his body

The girl who spilled coffee at Jisoo scoffed. “You both are liars.”

“Do you think you’re cute and sweet?” Another girl steps in. “You’re nothing but a bunch of actors acting in love for money.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying.” Jinyoung says, calming himself down.

The last girl, who was filming everything that’s going on, laughed. “You’re already busted. We’ve seen the tweets and we even know that you went back to your _real_ girlfriend during the season break. You’re over.”

Jisoo and Jinyoung froze into their places. They don’t know how to react about something that they know is right yet so wrong. They feel so ashamed, belittled.

“You girls, go back home.” Jaebum arrives with Lisa and Mark, a security personel walking behind them.

It was only then that Jisoo and Jinyoung make sense of what’s happening around; more people have gathered around them, filming the commotion. Jisoo just wanted the ground to eat her up.

Jinyoung turned to Jisoo and wraps his arm around her, hoping to cover from the people’s scrutinizing looks. Just then, Lisa walks to Jisoo, cleaning her up.

“This is physical and verbal assualt you’re doing, do you realize that? You can go to jail.” Jaebum says, fully stepping in, shielding his friends from the young bullies, as the security personnel steps closer to the girls.

The girls turned pale, stepping back at the sight of authorities.

“You need to come with me.” The personnel told the girls firmly.

“The show’s over!” Mark shouted at the people watching. “It’s time to leave!”

The girls, faces now painted with fear, tried to plead but was to no use. Jaebum would have thrown a fit if they let the girls go. Eventually, the personnel was able to get the girls to the nearest police station with Mark. Jaebum and Lisa are left with Jisoo and Jinyoung.

Jinyoung turned to Jisoo fully and wrapped her arms around her, not caring that she’s drenched in coffee.

“Jisoo,” he softly coos. “I am so sorry.”

Jisoo is still stunned, she couldn’t even get hold of what happened. She’s annoyed, angry but most of all embarrassed of what happened. This is just too overwhelming for her.

“I’ll help her change.” Lisa says, taking Jisoo’s arm and looking at Jinyoung for approval.

Jinyoung didn’t want to let Jisoo go at first but eventually he did, knowing it’s the best thing to do right now.

Lisa and Jisoo slowly walk away, with Lisa’s arm over Jisoo to guide her, looking for the nearest comfort room.

Jinyoung feels exhausted, defeated. Once again, he’s blaming himself for what is happening. He walks over to the side of the street, aggressively slumping himself on the sidewalk ledge. He buries his head on his hands, groaning.

Jaebum sits next to him with an exhausted sigh.

“This is all my fault.” Jinyoung groaned.

“If we’re doing a self-blaming party, then I won’t let you win.” Jaebum said, looking ahead. “Stop sulking. We don’t have time for a blame party.”

Jinyoung takes a moment before inhaling deep. He sits up, turning to Jaebum.

“What do we do?”

Jaebum takes another deep breath. “I have no fucking idea.”

 

 

The HQ is back on being a mess when the crew came back. News travel fast, especially if its of human interest. Someone has a uploaded a video of the girls bullying Jisoo and Jinyoung at the streets of Myeongdong earlier. The response is split; some people are saying they deserved to be ridiculed like that while some are sympathazing the couple saying they don’t deserve the treatment even though they were wrong. In the end, more and more people are now convinced that Jinji is fake.

They are back on the brain room, thinking of what else they should do. Rosé, leading the social media team, is back on deleting all hate comments but it’s a little bit more difficult this time because the video has already been reposted too many times. They’ve taken down the mother post but they’re finding it hard to control the rest. Nayeon and the PR team is just waiting for Jaebum’s signal now to release an official statement for their advertisers, none of them are buying the _‘we got it under control’_ press release anymore. The rest of the team, were brainstorming, pitching every dumb idea they have, hoping something will be good enough to divert the netizen’s attention from the Jinji issue.

But Jaebum is not taking any of their suggestions. He’s oddly passive with the whole situation. He thought about it for the whole night, whole morning, ‘til on their way back to the HQ. He thought about things to fix this shit. He had some pretty concrete ideas, one of them is a throwback episode which will talk about Jisoo and Jinyoung’s past relationships with hopes to explain what the thread is about. It’s basically a more creative way of coming clean and using Mark’s argument.

It sounds promising. Lame but it will at least save the show and, hopefully, some investors. But it wasn’t enough for him. Jennie’s words telling him she trusts him to make it right continuously rings on his head and he knows nothing will make all of these right. Except for one thing—the truth.

It’s hard admitting your wrongdoings, especially if you did it on social media and that wrongdoing is lying to their faces for views. It’s a natural thing to do off-cam, make up stories to create something or make someone look good. It’s good. It sells. It’s all fun and games until it’s time to stop.

“The tiger’s back.” Bambam mumbles, peeking through the brain room’s blinds.

With a sigh, Jaebum stands from his seat, not saying anything.

“Where are you going?” Lisa asked.

“Pitching a fix.” Jaebum replied.

“Which one are you pitching?” Youngjae asked.

Jaebum smiled. “The one that will work.”

They all looked at him in puzzle as he walks to the door.

“Hey, I’m coming with you.” Jisoo said, following him.

They leave the room and their friends clueless.

“So, what’s the fix?” Jisoo asked as they walk.

Jaebum, just before he opens the door of Dohwan’s door, turns to Jisoo and winked. “Be humble.”

Jisoo stared at him, clueless, before following him in.

“We’re owning up to it.” Jaebum announced without even greeting Dohwan. “We’re filming a tell-all apology video.”

“What?” Jisoo asked, wide-eyed, confused and shocked.

“We’re telling the truth and apologize to the audience.” Jaebum continues, ignoring Jisoo. “We’ll lose a couple of investors but we can guarantee more fans staying. I’ll be responsible for it.”

Jisoo hasn’t recovered from whatever that is going on. Everything just kept on piling up over and over. She’s slowly losing her mind but Dohwan’s smirk is what sent her to the edge.

“You can’t do that.” Dohwan said.

“I can.” Jaebum said firmly. “And I told you, I’ll be responsible for it. You can cancel the show but give us that last episode.”

Dohwan’s smirke turned wider, more arrogant.

“You’re fired.”

It was like a bomb was dropped on Jaebum’s head.

“What are you talking about?” Jisoo asked, panic is evident in her shaking voice.

“You’re fired.” Dohwan repeated without a flinch.

“You can’t do that.” Jaebum insisted.

Dohwan shrugged arrogantly. “I just did.”

“But, we have our shows.” Jisoo can’t believe what she just heard. “Trendsetters, Soul City, Fusion—you just can’t kick us out like that.”

“Investors are already pulling out from Jinji—that show’s a trash. It’s as good as cancelled.” Dohwan scoffed. “And our investors are threatening to pull out from other shows too if the company won’t kick you out. Do you honestly think we’ll choose you two over the investors’ trust? Fool of you to believe. Oh, and your friend from News? He’s out too.”

This is too much. This just too overwhelming for Jaebum and Jisoo combined. Its their careers, their whole world, crumbling down around them and they can’t do anything about it. All their hard work, everything that they built for themselves and for this whole company—gone in a snap. It’s sickening, it’s madenning but they can’t help but to acknowledge that this is part of their responsibility too. This is too much for them to take in.

Dohwan glances at his watch. “You have about two hours to clear your tables. The HR will just call you for the official matters but for now, the heads want you two out as soon as you can.”

He smirks. “We need the tables clear for tomorrow.”

Jisoo is the verge of tears already. She may be responsible for the Jinji’s cancellation but she at least expects a little bit of support from the company she help built with her blood and sweat. This is outright humiliation.

She takes a deep breath, taking all the patience and courage that she can. She knows Post It and she knows that this is dead end. Arguing will just get on a freak battle.

“We deserve more than this, Dohwan.” She says firmly but calmly. “You know that.”

Dohwan looks smug. “It’s done now, Jisoo. You’re both done.”

Jisoo’s heart skipped a beat in too much anger but what she saw on her peripheral view is much more frightening—Jaebum’s sharp stare and chin tensed out.

She quickly steps closes and grabbing him by the arm, knowing very well that if things get out of hand, Dohwan may be found in bruises in the next second.

“Calm down, Jaebum.” Jisoo whispered but Jaebum remains unfazed, whole body still tensed from anger. “Oh, please, Jaebum. Let’s go.”

Jisoo gives Dohwan one last sharp stare before dragging Jaebum out of the office.

“Just let me do this once.” Jaebum said just before Jisoo shuts the door behind them.

“What are you talking about? Violence won’t do you any good.” Jisoo said.

“I won’t hurt him.” Jaebum promised. “And I’m fired anyway, I need to do this.”

Jisoo looks at him in puzzle as Jaebum takes his arm off of her. He turned back to the office, opens the door wide, while remaining by the door frame and making sure that whatever happens, everyone in the office will witness it.

“Hey, Dohwan.” Jaebum calls calmly.

Dohwan slowly turned around. “What else do you—“

Jaebum, at the top of his lungs, cuts him off.

“FUCK YOU, BASTARD!”

 

 

“Are we really fired?” Jisoo asked.

Sitting on the stone pavement of the basement parking with their things messily shoved into cardboard boxes, Jisoo and Jaebum look exactly like how people on their quarter life crisis are.

They are both staring blankly ahead, looking soulless as they watch cars leave the parking. They are waiting for the clock to hit six so their friends can join them in their misery. Like what Dohwan said, it’s not only the two of them that are fired, Jinyoung has been stripped of his probation too and kicked out of Post It but since he’s basically a non-employee, his supervisor is taking advantage and asking him to do more stuff on his last day of work.

“I actually feel a bit good, not gonna lie.” Jaebum admitted. “We’re finally out of that fucking dungeon.”

Jaebum exhales heavily, as if taking a big burden off his chest. Jisoo couldn’t help but laugh. They did hate their jobs, despite being workaholics, they all secretly want to get out of it.

Jisoo takes a deep breath. “But what happens to Jinji now? Soul City? Trendsetter? Fusion?”

Jaebum froze. “Oh shit. Yeah now that sucks. I kind of feel good about cursing Dohwan that I forgot about that. Fuck.”

Jisoo sighs. “What are we going to do now, Jaebum? We’re fired. We got nothing.”

Jaebum felt a sudden of urge of guilt. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have dragged you into this.”

“It’s not your fault, Jaebum.”

Jinyoung suddenly appears behind them with his own share of misery shoved in a box that’s he is holding in his arms.

“We’ve heard that sorry a lot of times already and you know that we got in here with our own will.” Jinyoung continues as he sits on the other side of Jaebum. “This is a decision made by adults who weren’t very mature when they came up with the idea.”

Jisoo chuckles dryly. “Yeah. And hey, at least we’re friends in a dump.”

“Fuck.” Jaebum breathes. “Well, it’s their loss. They just lost their best producers and writers. They’re probably not gonna crawl to get us back but the damage is done. They’ll have a hard time continuing our shows. Even with Trendsetters—I’m sure Mark’s gonna slack off.”

“I heard he’s turning in his resignation.” Jinyoung mumbles.

“What?!” Jisoo exclaims.

“Idiot.” Jaebum smiles proudly. “We can easily get a new job, anyway. We got good records.”

Jinyoung and Jisoo were mummed, letting Jaebum float in his daydream before Jisoo breaks in.

“Uh, we got fired because we _got a record.”_ She mumbles. “We need to clear our names for us to get hired again.”

“Shit, right.” Jaebum breathes.

Jisoo sighs and so did Jinyoung. The three of them stared ahead again, getting drowned in their pool of thoughts. Rethinking their life decisions and thinking how to make them right or, at least, fix its remnants.

Jaebum then, almost too dramatically, stands up.

“Fine. We’re doing it.” Jaebum said.

“We’re doing what?” Jisoo asked, both scared and excited as to what Jaebum has in mind.

“The apology video.” Jaebum replied. “I don’t care if the show’s cancelled or if we’re out of work. You are going to do it. Jisoo and Jinyoung, just you two. No other shit involved.”

“How?” Jisoo asked.

Jinyoung stands up, fired up and encouraged. “Let’s do this.”

“How?” Jisoo repeated as if she wasn’t ignored the first time.

“We’re filming over your house.” Jaebum told Jisoo. “One camera setup. Just the two of you talking. No script, just tell everyone the truth.”

“Okay,” Jisoo slowly stands up, getting convinced little by little. “How are we going to upload it? We’re fired. We don’t have access over the channel anymore and I doubt we can upload a video without anyone knowing.”

As if on cue, the Post It crew comes out to the basement from the HQ.

“Guys, sorry we’re late.” Youngjae mumbles.

“Are you guys okay?” Lisa worries, wrapping an arm around Jisoo’s waist.

“I’m so sorry.” Rosé mumbles, occupying Jisoo’s other side.

Bambam appears beside Jaebum, putting an arm around him. “Cursing Dohwan was the best part of it—er, the only good part, I mean.”

“Should’ve punched him.” Mark mutters behind him.

Jaebum melts into a wide, almost evil smile.

“We’ll need a little help from our friends.”

 

 

Jaebum is basically dragging himself to his apartment. It’s nearly midnight they just finished filming and crash editing Jinji’s apology video. Before he gets completely shut off of Post It, he wanted the video to be up on the channel. The plan is to post it guerilla way. Usually, producers don’t post materials themselves. The process is after getting a material approved by their EP, they’re going to submit it to the channel managers who’s going to post the video. But since they’re doing this their way, Mark and Bambam are going to have to sneak in the control room to upload the video while Lisa and Rosé wait for it to get uploaded so they can share it on social media right away—all while Youngjae distracts the rest of the Post It Eps with his mock pitch for a new series that is totally bollocks. It’s funny how they’re all working on this so diligently—all together cramming to finish the material on time.

Which leads Jaebum to the dark corridor of their apartment building, dragging himself to their unit. It hasn’t sink in to him yet that he’s now jobless and he’s going to wake up tomorrow as a bum. He’s too busy working things out to think about that.

He gets inside the apartment, pressing the code one try. He walks straight to his couch, slumping himself in it without taking his shoes and coat off; not even bothering to switch the lights on.

He shuts his eyes, letting exhaustion get over him and put him to sleep so he won’t have to worry about tomorrow.

He must be dreaming or someone’s breaking inside but he felt the lights being switched on and he hears footsteps coming close. He keeps his eyes shut, too exhausted to care if he gets robbed tonight.

Then, suddenly, he feels someone kneeling in front of him—on their center table—and the next thing he knew, his shoe are being taken off his foot.

“Is this how you’re going to be when I’m away?”

Jaebum’s eyes shot open. It’s Jennie. She should be in the plane right now, or she should be _in_ Milan right now, not in front of him taking his shoes off.

“Jennie?” He asked as if to make sure that it isn’t a dream. “What are you doing here?”

“What are _you_ doing? Look at you. You’re a mess.” Jennie starts to nag, making it more believable for Jaebum. “I’m not even away for a whole day and you’re already like this.”

“You should be in Milan right now.” Jaebum said.

Jennie sighed. “Flight got delayed. Thanks to some aircraft traffic, I got Lisa’s text telling me what happened.” She suddenly pinches Jaebum’s thigh after taking both of his shoes.

“Ouch!” He protests.

“Were you not planning to tell me about it?” She continues nagging. “You and Jisoo! When are you planning to tell me? Next year? When I come back? Not at all?”

Jaebum made a face. “I’m sure she’s going to tell you as soon as she can.”

“And you don’t plan to tell me at all?”

“It’s nothing. You don’t have to cancel your trip for this.”

“Nothing? Jinji is in a whole chaotic crisis and you got fired! How is that nothing?”

Jaebum looked away, embarrased. Having to hear it from someone else, especially Jennie, is pretty humiliating.

Jennie takes a deep breath. She moves closer and takes Jaebum’s hand.

“Jaebum,” she calls softly.

“Hey,” she coos as she gently turns Jaebum’s face to her.

“Sorry,” she mumbles, her fingers gently caressing his face. “I’m not here to nag you. But I’m not just Jennie your girlfriend anymore. I’m your wife now and whatever it is that you’re going through. We have to go through it together.”

Jaebum turns to her, locking eyes with her, as she gently rests her hand on the crook of his neck.

“We share each other’s success and hardships. Always.” Jennie said.

They stared at each other for a while, letting the moment count in silence.

“Jennie,” Jaebum murmurs as he leans closer to her, submitting himself in her arms. Jennie instantly takes him in her arms, pulling him in.

Jennie wrapped Jaebum in her warm embrace as he buries his head in for comfort.

“I’m tired.”

Jennie pats his head slowly, her fingers gently passing through his hair, as she keeps him under her chin.

“It’s okay. You did the right thing.” Jennie sincerely assures. “I’m proud you. I’ll always be proud of you.”

 

 

“Do you think it will work? Did we do the right thing?” Jisoo asked.

It’s been hours since the crew left her apartment but they’re still on their work clothes, lying on the couch—in each other’s arm with Jisoo’s favorite childhood blanket over them.

Jinyoung takes a deep breath. “I don’t know but it’s worth trying. It’s dead end anyway, we just have to do our best to make things right.”

Jisoo nods. It is exactly what she needs to assure her. It’s been a tough day—a hell of a tough day. She couldn’t think of how she could’ve survived any of that if Jinyoung was not there with her. If he’s not here with his arms around her, making her warm.

She laughs softly. “I can’t believe this is all happening.”

“Me neither.” Jinyoung agrees. “But maybe this is the best. Didn’t we talk about quitting? It’s just a bit messed up right now but it’s over.”

“It’s over.” Jisoo echoed. “We barely started and now we’re over.”

“ _We_ are not over.” Jinyoung says, tighening his embrace.

This is probably the most selfish state they’ve been. They just told everyone the truth behind Jinji, giving the burden of the truth to the public as a goodbye. Taking the burden off their chest. They are jobless adults who should worry about tomorrow. All of their friends are working their ass off to help them clear their names and their conscience while here they are contented to be in each other’s arms.

Jisoo melts in a smile. “It does feel a little bit good.”

“But what are we going to do tomorrow?” Jisoo dares to ask. It’s a blissful moment to be locked in Jinyoung’s embrace like this but she just can’t help but worry about anything else.

“We’ll wake up and make breakfast.” Jinyoung simply replied.

“And Jinji?”

“People are going to see the video. They’re going to believe what we said and it’ll be goodbye.”

“What if they don’t believe us?”

“But we are not lying anymore.” Jinyoung mumbles onto Jisoo’s hair. “No one can regret the truth of two people who are just genuinely in love.”

Jisoo smiles closing her eyes, letting Jinyoung’s words get through her. He’s right. They’ve done everything they can right now and that’s more than enough. But she can’t help her mind to worry about things outside Jinji.

“How about the day after?” Jisoo asked. “About us?”

She slowly moves out of Jinyoung’s embrace to face him.

“I have no job now. It’s just been Post It for me since the start. I don’t know anything else.” The fear is evident in her voice.

Jinyoung takes her hand. It’s a reverse of roles for them right now, with Jinyoung calming her down instead.

“You can do anything.” He assured. “Post It is a closed chapter now. There’s more for you to explore.”

“Like what?” Jisoo sounds whining, but it’s just her anxiety taking over.

Jinyoung takes a moment to think.

“The world.” He finally says.

Jisoo’s eyebrows furrow, not expecting the immediate answer which is making her nervous.

“Remember your mother’s offer?” Jinyoung reminds her.

When Jisoo told him about it, he got scared. He thought they’re going to be away from each other so chose to be a little bit selfish and didn’t talk her to it. But now, it seems like it’s what Jisoo needs.

“Don’t you think it’s serendipitous? How your mother came to visit and offer you the job just before it all went shit with Jinji and Post It?” Jinyoung said.

Jisoo leans back, growing skeptical with how their simple talk is turning into _the_ talk.

“Look, I know you didn’t like the idea of it first but think about it now, it’s just a matter of timing.” Jinyoung continued.

“You don’t understand.” Jisoo says. “It’s traveling the world. I’m going to be away for god knows how long. I mean, at first I didn’t like it because there’s Post It but there’s you too. We’re just starting and we’re going to be away from each other already?”

Jinyoung couldn’t help but feel good about Jisoo wanting to be with him, making him smile. He hold her hand, caressing the back of her hand.

“Just think about it. It’s a good experience and you’re going to be with your mom.” Jinyoung says. “Besides, long distance—it’s just like Jaebum and Jennie.”

“But they’re married! They’re already on a different level.” Jisoo said.

Jinyoung smiles. “What’s the difference between their love and ours?”

 

***

 

One week into the bum life, they realize that getting fired from work isn’t entirely bad. They did have some depressive moments when they just stare ahead and go through existential crisis but for most of the time, it’s actually good. There’s freedom. No need to wake up early anymore and no need to suffer from unpaid ovetimes anymore. They can catch up on any TV series they missed and watch whatever they want to watch on it’s actual timeslot.

That’s exactly what Jaebum is doing in the past week. Jennie was only given another day before she can, finally, fly to Milan which leaves Jaebum alone in his apartment, officially. It’s safe to say that he has locked up himself inside his apartment since. He wasn’t necessarily in some crisis, he’s just catching up with all the sleep and series he missed.

For Jisoo and Jinyoung specifically, getting laid off of work means more time with each other. Sounds pretty immature and selfish but they better induldge with it now and worry about what’s going to happen next slowly.

“Do you think animals from different countries have different languages too?” Jisoo asked carrying a bag of groceries as Jinyoung opens her apartment door.

It’s midday and they’re just coming home from a quick trip to the supermarket. Jinyoung has been spending a lot of time over Jisoo’s these days. He’ll either go visit early in the morning to bring her breakfast or they’ll meet outside to eat. But most of the time, he either sleeps over or go back to their pad late at night.

“What?” Jinyoung asks in puzzle after successfully opening the door, letting Jisoo in first.

“I mean if I bring a Korean dog to Japan,” she says getting inside and walking straight to the kitchen to put down the groceries. “Will she be able to communicate with Japanese dogs or there’s going to be this whole language barrier?”

Jinyoung laughs, putting down the groceries for a moment to remove his coat and shoes, before walking to the kitchen where Jisoo is.

“What? Why would you bring a dog to Japan?” he quizzed.

“Well I'm not really planning to bring to Japan,” Jisoo mumbles as she turn to her kitchen cabinet to keep the groceries they bought. “But I'm thinking of shipping a squirrel from Africa for when you miss me so much.”

Jinyoung followed him to the kitchen cabinet, putting the groceries in too. “Why would you—you’re going to Africa?” He drops the coffee pack he’s holding.

Jisoo melts into a smile. “Don’t get your hopes too high yet. I called Mom last night and told her that I’m considering her offer.”

She finishes putting the groceries then turned to Jinyoung who’s still stunned, making her laugh.

“She’s thrilled, of course, just like you.” She giggles. “Apparently she already told the company I turned it down so now they’re looking for someone else. But she promised to talk to them and she thinks they’ll be in favor of hiring me instead of someone else. So yeah, if it goes well, I can meet her on her next stop which is in Ethiopia.”

Jinyoung surprised face turned into a delighted expression.

“Jisoo,” he calls, getting close and pulling Jisoo in a hug. “That’s great! I’m sure you’ll get it!”

Jisoo smiles, hugging Jinyoung back. “You know for someone who’s going to be away from his girlfriend, you’re extremely delighted.”

Jinyoung pursed his lips, failing to hide his smile.

“Sorry, I’m just so happy about your decision.” He says, pulling from the embrace a bit to look at Jisoo. “You’re going to be so great with it. And you’re going to be with your mom too.”

Jisoo made a face. “Yeah, we’re going to argue a lot.”

“You just miss her.” Jinyoung says, pulling her back into a hug which Jisoo was quick to return.

“How can I just leave you like this?” Jisoo mumbles.

“So, you’re really smuggling an African squirrel to Korea for me?”

“What? No!”

Jinyoung laughs, wrinkling his eyes, as he tightens his embrace. They stayed like that for a moment, just savouring the moment.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” Jisoo mumbles, so soft it’s like she’s whispering on Jinyoung’s shoulder. “Don’t you have some parents and a brother to talk to?”

Jinyoung, again, releases her from the hug and letting her continue.

“I mean, after what Jessica’s brother did, don’t you think you have more reason to talk to them?” she asked.

“You want me to look for them to talk to them? In New Zealand?” Jinyoung riddled.

Jisoo nods. “We might as well use our time away from each other wisely.” She says as her fingers make circles on Jinyoung’s shoulder.

“Besides,” she looks into Jinyoung. “I know you’ve been wanting to do that. It’s keeping you up at night again.”

When Jinyoung came back from New York, he promised himself that it’s going to be just Jisoo. Nothing from the past is going to hold him back. He’s going to focus on the now, on the future—both of which Jisoo makes more beautiful. But with what recently happened with Jinji and knowing very well that it is brought by the past the he wanted to close, fear and panic started to take over him again. He has been trying to let it go, to focus on the future instead but he can’t help but admit that it has indeed brought him back to the pit again.

He tried to hide it from Jisoo, to put up a happy face in front of her. But she will always know better. She will always see through him and she’ll always let him do the best thing to do. He has done all of these to be a better person for Jisoo, little did he know that she’ll always be the one to make him better.

Jinyoung smiles. He slowly takes Jisoo’s face in his hand, pulling her close then planting a soft, chaste on her lips.

Being in love and being in a relationship isn’t just about sharing each other’s success and hardships. It’s about holding each other’s hand and pulling each other up and dragging each other to the better track. In the end, true love will always bring out the best in you.

“Thank you, Jisoo.” He mumbles. Jisoo smiled then pulls him back in an embrace. Jinyoung plants a kiss on her head.

“Thank you.”

 

***

 

Airports are always two things. Quiet and noisy. Crying and laughing. Running and staying. Waiting and leaving. Hellos and goodbyes.

They are walking hand in hand with their backpacks on and their friends watching behind them.

Both of them are leaving. He’s off to fix some stuff while she’s on her way to start a new life.

She’s getting off at Gate 11, his plane is waiting at Gate 23—the gates are on separate directions. With every step they take, their grip on each other’s hand tightens. Neither of them wants to let go.

His flight is at 1455 while hers is at 1505. They didn’t necessarily planned their flight details but it seemed like the aircraft gods didn’t want one of them to be left by the other. With every second that passes, the urge to hold on tighter gets stronger.

It’s fifteen past two in the afternoon. Both of them should board their planes now but none of them wants to let go.

They stopped their tracks in front of Gate 17, their middle ground. With heavy breaths, they turned to each other. Both their eyes glistening with tears already but their reassuring smiles are lifting off the burdens.

They embraced, holding on tight and making that quick moment last forever.

Eventually, they let go of each other with a couple of kisses laters, they smiled one more time and they turned to each other’s ways.

Just like that.

No goodbyes, no tears.

Because this isn’t goodbye.

They may be physically away from each other but their hearts will always be together. Distance is nothing to people who truly love each other.

One day, they will be back on each other’s arms. No one knows when exactly but that is sure to happen.

Because distnance is nothing to people who are made for each other.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did you keep track with the number of dates?


	18. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehe if you kept track of the number of dates (or if i counted right lol), you'll know that there's more! *winks*

Jisoo wakes up to the sound of her phone ringing. It’s a sound that she knows so well, the sound that her heart grew to love. The FaceTime notification sound.

She yawns, stretching her arms above her head before reaching for her phone on the bedside table. She scratches her eye while her other hand slides on her phone to answer the call, not really caring to fix her look.

“Good morning,” she greets, her voice still hoarse.

“‘Morning, love.” Jinyoung mumbles, making Jisoo smile so wide in the morning.

“It’s too early,” she fakes a groan as she gets up from bed.

“Early? It’s eight there in Paris, right? Did I get it wrong again?” Jinyoung asked, moving away from the screen for a while to check the time.

Four years. For over a thousand days, Jinyoung hasn’t failed to call Jisoo in the morning. Whichever part of the world she’s in, which city she’s sleeping, whatever timezone she’s in, Jinyoung called her to wake her up. It’s their thing. Jinyoung does it in the morning while Jisoo does it at night for good night. It’s tough. It requires too much effort and sacrifice in sleep but it’s just the tip of the iceberg in any long distance relationship. They struggle, a lot more especially in their first years, but they’re slowly winging it. Distance and time difference are nothing anyway when you’re in love.

“Nah, you got it right.” Jisoo places the phone on the bedside table, positioning it for a better view, before she disappears to the bathroom. She washes her face and gargles water before coming back out of the bathroom to get a fresh shirt only to come back again inside to change.

“What time is it there?” Jisoo asked, loud enough for Jinyoung to hear her.

“Time?” Jinyoung echoes to make sure.

“Yeah.” Jisoo replies as she walks back out to get her phone.

“Uh, around four, I think?” Jinyoung answered.

“Afternoon? It looks early. Where are you?” Jisoo asked.

“Jaebum’s studio.” Jinyoung replied. He’s lying down on a couch, holding up the phone.

“Where is he? Is Jennie there?” Jisoo asked.

Jennie’s contract with her Italian agency ended a year ago. She was asked to renew her contract but, obviously, she said no; dramatically showing her wedding ring to her agent. Jaebum flew to Milan then to pick her up, also having their long overdue honeymoon.

Jinyoung sighs. “It’s cold in here. There are egg shells everywhere.”

Jisoo giggles as she settles on the couch of her Parisian hotel room. “Again? What did they fight about this time?”

Jinyoung shrugged. “I don’t know. But we’re pushing through with the movie so, probably that.”

After quitting Post It and after Jinyoung cleared things up with Jessica’s family, he and Jaebum started their own company. Along with Mark who quit Post It too and Jackson who’s always down to have fun with his friends. It started simply as a YouTube channel. The four of them doing random stuff while breaking down gender roles and society’s perception about men—all while having their creative touch to it. With their following from their Post It stint and with their undeniable charms, the channel became an instant hit. Four years into it, they’re just getting hungrier, or rather ambitious. One alcohol-filled brainstorming for an episode turned to brainstorming a whole feature film. Now, they’re betting everything they own to invest in an independent film.

“Oh my gosh, really?” Jisoo exclaimed. “You finally put your investments? How did Jennie take it?”

Everyone was supportive for the project, especially Jisoo and Jennie. Well, Jennie was at first. But as the planning goes further, she realizes that Jaebum and them as a married couple is risking more than they can bargain. For one, they had to put building their dream home on hold. And now, it looks like having children won’t happen anytime soon either. Not that Jennie is so eager to have babies, but she does want to have a baby as much as she wants to support Jaebum with his dreams.

“I chose not to be part of the discussion.” Jinyoung says, making Jisoo laugh again.

“Then go home already. Why suffer in the battlefield?” Jisoo asked.

“I’m waiting for Mark and Jackson, we’re filming something for the channel today.” Jinyoung explains to which Jisoo nods. “What’s your plan today?”

“Nothing.” Jisoo rolls over in the couch. “It’s our free day. Mom is meeting some friends, I think? So, I’ll probably just stroll around.”

“You like it there, huh?”

Jisoo smiles. “I love it here. You know when people say that Paris is so romantic and it’s a place to fall in love? I thought that’s just some marketing shit but it’s true! It’s so beautiful here, Jinyoung.” She coos. “I wish you were here.”

They stare at each other’s blurry screens, melting into bittersweet smiles. Sure, they make this long distance relationship work but they can never hide the fact that they will always miss each other.

“We’ll be in Paris together, too.” Jinyoung mumbles. “I promise.”

“Good morning, favorite son-in-law!” Eunha greets as she enters Jisoo’s hotel room.

“Good morning, mother!” Jinyoung greeted.

“Mom? How did you even—did you ask for my hotel card again?” Jisoo accuses, sitting up on the couch.

Eunha shrugs. “I just went here to borrow your coat.” She walks to Jisoo’s luggage then took the said coat.

“You’re leaving already?” Jisoo asked.

“Yes. I’ll be back late in the afternoon, I guess? We can have dinner then.” Eunha said. “Are you going anywhere?”

Jisoo shakes her head. “Just gonna go for a walk.”

“Okay,” Eunha readies to leave. “Don’t spend too much time on FaceTime. There’s radiation.”

Jisoo makes a face while Jinyoung bursts into laughter.

“Yes, mother.”

“Radiation? That’s not a thing!”

Jinyoung and Jisoo say as Eunha waves goodbye, exiting the room.

“Why do old people always hate technology?” Jisoo rants.

Jinyoung grins. “Maybe that’s why she rarely FaceTimed you when you were here.”

Jisoo’s eyes widens. “You’re right!”

She lies back down on the couch.

“How’s work going?” Jinyoung asked.

“I just turned in the blog entries for this month and—oh! I’m visiting a bakery today for my channel!” Jisoo remembers.

Apart from helping her mom on her blog, Jisoo also started her own YouTube channel where she features food from the places they visit and then tries doing it with her own Korean twist. It’s basically like Fusion too but more international. Unlike Jinyoung though, she still refuses to be seen in her vlogs. She feels like people will find it hard to trust her from what happened with Jinji.

Jinyoung shakes his head. “You keep forgetting things.”

Jisoo smiles in guilt. “It’s because I just woke up! I’m not yet functioning right and—“

She’s interrupted by a series of chat notifications from Jennie.

“Hold on, Jennie’s chatting me.” She says, opening her notification bar. “Yeah, looks like she needs a talk.”

Jinyoung pursed his lips. “No. Excuse yourself from the discussion too!”

Jisoo laughs. “You know I can’t. I’m basically their marriage counselor.”

“Then ask for a pay.” Jinyoung pouts.

Jisoo only laughs. “Sorry, I’ll call you later, okay?”

Jinyoung nods.

“Love you lots!”

“Love you always.”

They hang up and Jisoo replied to Jennie with a simple call me. She then walks to her pantry to make herself coffee while waiting for Jennie’s call.

About two minutes later, she receives an incoming voice call in Facebook.

Jisoo takes a sip from her coffee just as she slides answer.

“Heeeeeeey,” Jisoo greets. “What’s up?”

“I’m going crazy!” Was Jennie’s greeting.

Jisoo couldn’t help but laugh. “What happened again?”

“They’re crazy!” Jennie exclaimed. “They’re really doing the film.”

“Yeah, they are and aren’t we really supportive with it?” Jisoo replied. “I mean, I am and last time I checked you’re thrilled too that Jaebum’s finally doing something about his dreams.”

Jennie sighed. “You’re right. But I didn’t realize that we’re risking too much here. I mean, it’s not even the risk anymore. I know they’ll do great. But...” she trails off. “But I didn’t know we’re putting too much of our life on hold.”

Jisoo can see Jennie frowning and all she wants is to give her a comforting hug right now.

“Well, if you trust that they’ll do great, you have to give all of your trust. No conditions.” Jisoo explains. “And besides, you’re not putting your life on hold. Jaebum’s not only doing this for himself; but for you as well. For you future.”

Jennie takes a moment, taking in Jisoo’s words.

“Imagine,” Jisoo continues. “Im Jaebum the filmmaker. Attending film festivals in Busan, Venice, Sundance—Cannes! And producers back home will be seeing his potential and start investing. Eventually, it’ll get easier to juggle career and family.”

“That sounds ambitious.” Jennie sighs.

“Well, it really is but that’s fine.” Jisoo agreed. “But hey, no offense, but Jaebum did put his life on hold for you too, when you went to Milan.”

“Wow, no need to make me feel awful.” Jennie said, making Jisoo giggle. “But you’re right.”

“Also,” Jisoo manages to talk between laughter. “Don’t think about it as putting life on hold. It’s not like that—it’s basically just a detour. This road may be a little bit longer but, who knows, the sight might be more beautiful in this road.”

Jennie takes a deep breath. “You should change careers and be an marriage counselor instead.”

Jisoo laughs again. “No, thanks. You’re the only couple I can tolerate.”

 

 

After the phone call with Jennie, Jisoo gets ready to go out of her hotel room. This has been her usual schedule now. On their free days, Jisoo will go around the city they’re in and meet someone who she can interview about the country’s food and culture as part of her own channel. Compared to her work at Post It, this is much more laid back. She works according her own time and deadlines without compromising her own creative freedom.

Like what she told Jinyoung, she went to meet someone at a Parisian bakery across the hotel they’re checked in. It was a quick meeting. The person she’s meeting, the owner of the bakery, was really nice and Jisoo was able to get more footage for her vlog than she first intended. The meeting ended earlier than she expected. She still has a couple of hours left before dinner with her mom so she strolled around.

It’s her favorite thing about visiting any country, just her walking around and observing the locals. There is something about watching them quietly that makes her know the place and people even more.

Jisoo was on her way back to their hotel for dinner when she received a text from her mother telling her to meet on the McDonald’s near the hotel for dinner. She immediately calls her to confirm.

“Mom?” she says as soon as Eunha takes the call. “McDonalds? Do you really want to have dinner in McDonalds? In Paris?”

“I’m craving for some Big Mac.” Eunha simply answers.

“Big Mac? Is there even Big Mac in Paris?” Jisoo finds it hard to accept her mother’s weird cravings.

“Of course there is.” Eunha replied. “Just go and I’ll meet you there. I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”

Eunha hangs up before Jisoo can argue anymore. So Jisoo takes a deep breath and turned around to walk to the said McDonald’s. She gets inside, choosing a seat on the far end where they can see the people outside. It’s been a habit of her and her mother to watch and talk about the people passing by in their mother tongue—it’s just too liberating to do in a foreign land.

Jisoo pulls her laptop and notes out of her bag. Looking at people alone can only make her look like a creep and she knows her mom’s twenty minutes is going to take long so she might as well use her time to do something more productive.

She is reviewing the footages she took from the bakery, taking down notes as she does, when her phone was suddenly bombarded by messages from iMessage. She just turned to her phone to check it when her Facebook Messenger chimes, receiving loads of chats one after another.

While unlocking her phone with one hand, the other is busy opening the Facebook tab on her laptop to check her messages. She’s getting multiple chats from Bambam on Facebook while Lisa is chatting her endlessly on iMessage.

She shakes her head, smiling. They’re doing it again.

Ever since Jisoo left, lots of things have changed over Post It. For one, Lisa left the company just a couple of months after Jisoo and Jaebum got fired and Mark resigned. She said work as it is is too much pressure already, with her friends gone, it has become unbearable. So, she quit her job with barely a two-weeks notice then took about two months break to treat herself. When she came back, she applied to a local media entertainment company, which was then fairly small but with Lisa’s addition to the company, it has slowly grew to be one of Asia’s biggest media entertainment company and is now Post It’s biggest rival—much to Bambam’s dismay.

Bambam and Youngjae were the only ones left at Post It—but definitely not the loyal ones. They got a little bit brokenhearted when their friends left them in the pit of Post It’s hell. So, they focused their energy working hard, doing all sorts of materials and weird, quirky ideas, which were actually good. Bambam became a chairman favorite while Youngjae has developed to be the best senior producer in the company. About two years later, not only were they both promoted as EPs, they were also able to kick Dohwan out of the company—through very ethical ways, of course.

Now, Lisa and Bambam had endlessly battled it out in media. They’re constantly racing to get the biggest investors and fighting for the number one trending spot. They both insist it’s nothing but a friendly competition but Youngjae has long excluded himself from the competition and chose friendship instead, saying that if he favored one of his two friends, he might as well just retire even before he hit his thirties.

Now, Lisa and Bambam are bombarding Jisoo with messages—both of them are inviting her to be part of this new project that they have; something about _thirty people who hit the top before their thirties_ kind of thing. Normally, coming up such campaigns are supposed to be confidential to the company but with Lisa and Bambam calling her at the same time, Jisoo knew someone has accidentally spilled some beans to the other.

Instead of answering either of them, Jisoo calls them both to a group FaceTime on her laptop. It’s past work time over in Seoul, she’s pretty sure they’re both stuck on their offices.

“Hi!” Jisoo greeted as soon as the two takes the call.

“Jisoo!”

“Jisoo!”

Lisa and Bambam greeted at the same time only to realize they’re both in the call.

“Hey, what?” Bambam exclaimed.

“Bambam, what the hell?” Lisa exhaled.

Jisoo immediately bursts into laughter.

“What’s this, Jisoo? Why is he in the call?” Lisa calmly asks.

“I told you it’s confidential!” Bambam insisted referring to one of his chats to Jisoo.

“I didn’t open your chats.” Jisoo replied. “Not yours too, Lisa.”

“Then what’s this? You just miss us, that’s it?” Bambam replied.

“No.” Jisoo said. “But that’s what I expected when you bombarded me with messages, not some offer to get into some campaign for your company.”

“I told you it’s confidential!” Bambam repeated.

“I messaged you first!” Lisa called dibs like a four-year-old.

Jisoo shakes her head. “Both of you are calling me at the same time, asking me the same favor and sounding very urgent—tell me honestly, who stole whose idea?”

“Bambam!”

“Not me!”

Lisa and Bambam answered in chorus.

“You sound like seven-year-olds fighting for the shotgun seat.” Jisoo sighed.

Lisa rolls her eyes. “The three of us—with Youngjae—were having after-work drinks and I don’t know, we probably thought we’re still workmates over something—“

“We were sort of tipsy already, you should understand.” Bambam cuts Lisa off.

“Yeah, and well, we came up with this really good campaign about featuring thirty successful people under thirty. It was some legit brainstorming complete with timetable, we were pretty proud with the idea, until we realized we’re on different companies and now, we don’t know who’s gonna take the idea.” Lisa explained.

“Obviously, Youngjae has decided to step out of the argument again.” Bambam said.

“Good for him.” Jisoo commented. “And you’re calling me because?”

“Because I need one more person on my list!” Lisa replied.

“Me too!” Bambam said. “I have twenty nine people on my list. I only need one more.”

“Whoever completes the thirty first, gets the project.” Lisa added.

Oh, now Jisoo understands the dilemma.

“You know I can’t do that.” Jisoo replied. “You can’t just make me choose between the two of you. Try someone else. How about Rosie? Her own firm is fairly new but she fits the criteria perfectly.”

“Bambam contacted her first.” Lisa groans. “Ugh. She with her new company would’ve been perfect for my list.”

Bambam smirked. “She’s top on my list.”

“How about…Yugyeom? Isn’t he like this big DJ already? I heard he had a sold out gig in Singapore?”

“Yeah, he did!” Lisa exclaimed excitedly. “He’s the first person I got on my list.”

Jisoo sighs. “Okay, but you know I can’t take it. I’m not ready for that yet.”

There was silence. It’s been a while since Jisoo was seen in the Internet. After what happened to Jinji, she just finds it hard to be in front of the camera again. It’s the same reason why none of her vlogs or episodes show her face.

“I know that.” Lisa mumbles.

“I just wanted to try.” Bambam murmurs.

Jisoo smiles weakly. “It’s okay. I mean, I’m sure there are other people out there. Or why don’t you just collab?”

“Collab?” Lisa echoed.

“Yeah!” Jisoo replied.

“Have you ever seen CNN and BBC collaborated?” Bambam asked smugly.

“Or Time and Rolling Stone?” Lisa added.

Jisoo rolled her eyes. “You’re going to be pioneers! Think about it, it’s going to be good.”

Lisa and Bambam turned silent; one of them is actually considering it.

Jisoo turned to her watch. “Okay, look, I gotta go and so sorry, you can’t get me into that. But I can help you _both_ with other things. Just give me a decent message, not ten chats, one after another. Okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Fine.”

They replied in chorus.

Jisoo smiled. “Talk to you two soon! Miss you, always.”

“Yeah, Jinyoung misses you a lot. Bye.” Bambam said before he hangs up.

“He meant he misses you too.” Lisa said.

“I know.” Jisoo agreed.

“Anyway, miss you too, Jisoo! We need to catch up, soon!” Lisa said.

After a couple more rounds of goodbye, they both hang up and Jisoo came back to her notes—already forgetting where she left off.

Once in a while, Jisoo will miss the thrill of working with a team. The brainstorming, the intellectual arguments, those late-night meetings that turn into drink nights—or vice versa—just everything that makes working in a big company fun. Or maybe, she just misses her friends, that’s all.

It hasn’t been long since Jisoo started with her notes again when someone approached her, unabashedly taking the seat in front of her.

Normally, she would make a fuss. She hates it when people do this. But when she looked up and found a pair of eyes and a wrinkly smile that she loves the most, she went on overdrive.

“Hi.”

Jinyoung greeted, smile wide, eyes sparkling with tears.

Jisoo’s eyes widens, she’s getting speechless.

“Hi.” She manages to breath, almost breathless.

They were just staring at each other’s eyes, transported in a world of their own. Jisoo couldn’t help but burst into tears. She leans closer and reached for Jinyoung’s face.

“You…you’re real, right?” she asked.

Jinyoung bursts into laughter mid-tears. He shakes his head. “Nah. This is just a dream. You’re having McDonald’s dream.”

Suddenly, Jisoo pinches his cheeks, making him scream in pain.

“Ouch!” Jinyoung protests.

“You are real!” Jisoo exclaims, leaning over the table and pulling Jinyoung in a warm tight hug.

“You’re here.” she whispers.

Jinyoung hugs her back. “I’m here.”

They released each other eventually, suddenly embarrassed to make a scene in a public place.

“What are you doing here? How? What?” Jisoo stutters, making it all sink in.

“I asked for a short leave before we start with the film’s production.” Jinyoung explained. “Our director couldn’t say no, of course.”

Jisoo smiles. “Hold on, so this morning, when you call—“

Jinyoung smiled in guilt. “I was in the hotel across the street.”

Jisoo slapped him in the shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s not going to be a surprise if I tell you.”

Jisoo frowns.

“Hey, why? I’m here. With you. Why are you crying?” Jinyoung panics.

“I’m here with you. That’s why I’m crying.” Jisoo replied, wiping her tears.

“Aw,” Jinyoung mumbles, reaching for Jisoo’s face and wiping her tears. “I’m here. Don’t cry.”

He watches Jisoo collect herself from tears with the biggest smile ever.

“I have something to make you smile.” Jinyoung said, pulling out his phone from his pocket. He reads out loud, “ _Thirty-one questions to ask on a date that could—_ “

“Actually lead to a good conversation.” Jisoo completes his sentence referencing, of course, to their supposedly first date. “Potentially love, actually.”

Jinyoung smiled back.

“So what is something that people won’t know just by looking at you?” Jisoo asked, leaning back on her seat.

Jinyoung puts his hands under his chin, thinking. “I don’t know. That I miss one girl every single day?”

Jisoo made a face. “Lame.”

“Then what about you?” Jinyoung dared.

Jisoo smile turned wider. “I’ve always hated staying up late for phone calls.”

“What?” Jinyoung’s eyes widen in disbelief making Jisoo roar into a loud laughter.

Over the past four years that she’s been traveling with her mom, Jisoo and Jinyoung has only met for about six times. The past three Chuseok holidays when Jisoo came home to Korea, once when hers and Jinyoung’s layover from New Zealand ended up being on the same city—Manila, Philippines. The other two was on each other’s birthdays, both of which Jisoo made the effort to come home. Due to her schedule, Jisoo always ends up adjusting on who comes home. It’s just easier planning with her schedule. Jinyoung have wasted over four tickets in the past years already because Jisoo has to leave the country they’re in. It’s another hardship they’re facing in a long distance relationship but they always make it work.

A lot of things have changed over the past years. They’ve changed careers, transferred places, met new people, discovered more about themselves. But deep within, they’re still the same persons that they were; hanging out with the same old friends, being the better versions of themselves and their homes belonging to each other’s hearts.

 

***

 

Four years later, with close to four million views and, surprisingly still counting, this is how their last video went.

Jinyoung was adjusting the camera while Jisoo was sitting behind him, fixing her hair. Once happy with the angle, Jinyoung walks back and sat beside Jisoo. They turned to each other, sharing reassuring soft smiles before turning to the camera. They bowed together, greeting politely.

“Hello, I am Jinji’s Jinyoung,” Jinyoung started. “Park Jinyoung.”

He turned to Jisoo and she bowed again.

“Hi, this is Jinji’s Kim Jisoo.” She greeted

There was a brief moment of silence before Jinyoung continued.

“Recently, some news resurfaced the Internet regarding the truth about our relationship.” He said. “There were some people who still trusted and supported us despite such news—whom we are very much thankful for.”

He paused, as if letting his words get more meaning.

“But there were also some who didn’t take it so well and felt betrayed.” He continued. “And to be honest, we won’t blame anyone who felt that way.”

Jinyoung turned to Jisoo, under the table which the camera can’t capture, he reached for Jisoo’s hand and their fingers interlaced in an instant.

“Regardless of how you felt, if you believed the news or not, we know that you all deserve to know the truth.” Jisoo said. “First of all, we would like to thank everyone who followed us and supported us from our first episode until now. We owe you guys a lot. As a form of gratitude, we’d like to share to all of you our love story. Our real love story.”

They turned to each other, this time with unapologetic smiles plastered on their faces. Jinyoung lifts Jisoo’s hand and planted a kiss on the back of her hand before settling on top of the table.

“We first met at a McDonalds about a year ago,” Jinyoung started. “But prior to that, we met twice that day. We don’t know each other yet but we crossed path already and well, basically checking out each other.”

Jisoo’s eyes widened, finally getting comfortable in filming.

“I wasn’t!” She denied.

Jinyoung only laughed, focusing on his story. “I wasn’t really a believer of fate but I think that was fate.”

Jisoo made a face. “We had a lot of dates since then. We got to know each other more; we had fun; we even had fights and misunderstanding.”

“Lots of them.”

Jisoo smiled. “We did a lot of things but we were not supposed to fall in love.”

Jinyoung’s smile turned wider. “The best rule we’ve ever broken.”

Jisoo takes a deep breath. “We may started all of these with pretensions but we’re shamelessly glad we ended up falling in love.”

“This may sound as an excuse, some of you might even think that it’s still a lie, but this is it. This is our truth.” Jisoo continued as Jinyoung put an arm around her, pulling her close and planting a kiss on her head. “We sincerely apologize to the confusion that we have caused. Unfortunately, we have to end the series here and we cannot show you a better version of ourselves.”

Jisoo paused as Jinyoung gives his full attention to the camera.

“But we promise to be true to each other.” She promised.

“We promise to be good persons and to be good to each other, always.” Jinyoung added.

“We promise to understand each other and love each other unconditionally.” Jisoo concluded. “Jinji may be ending but we promise that this is just the start of us, Jinyoung and Jisoo.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi so yeah, (officially) that was it........
> 
> Honestly, these last two chapters are quite messy lol I mean, it took me a while writing it haha i just had a bit of trouble expressing what's on my head lol and the fact that it is ending :< but hey, we made it!
> 
> Also, some of you might think that it sounded rushed or something (considering that it took me a while writing it lol) but this is really how I wanted it to be so hm i hope you still like it? This whole fic is really a rollercoaster ride lol a lot of things happened that wasn't in my plan when I first decided to write but I feel like it did went well in the end, right? Haha!
> 
> I'll be forever thankful for everyone who supported and waited (even tho it took me ages to update) every single chapter of this fic. As usual, writing has been extra special and fun reading your feedbacks and comments. They mean a lot to me and helped me a lot in writing, so, huge thanks for you all! <3
> 
> I'm gonna miss writing like I always do but I'll never stop! I'll be back with more jinji or jenbum or gotpink or GOT7 or Blackpink stuff!!! <3
> 
> Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST <3
> 
> GOT7 and Blackpink fighting! Ahgases and Blinks fighting! ILY <3


End file.
